The farm is located in southern Lombardy, Italy, in the village of Canneto Pavese (PV). Its history begins in 1997 with me, William Colombo, and my family. All the vineyards of our farm sit on the slopes of a hill, hystorically named Bricco dei Roncotti. The word “bricco” means very steep, indeed we are the first and only heroic mountain vineyard in the area.
In the 1997 the Roncotti hill reborned. Due to the constancy and the will of my father we recovered the hill. Despite the vineyards layed abandoned, too difficult the cultivation and very few the production, we didn’t lose heart. So we started an incredible job, believing in this amazing hill, sure of the potential in the production of excellent wines.
The steep slopes weren’t a problem for our family of explorers and climbers. My dad Arnaldo climbed all italian mountains ranging over 4000 meters and many other peak over 6000 during his exploration trips run in the seventies with my mum Maria Rosa, even accross Sahara desert without any technological help, except a compass. I, William, am a snowboarder, with a passion for halfpipe, I won the Italian cup and partecipate to several world cup races. I’m graduated in Environment Engineering and specialized in waste water treatment plants design and soil and groundwater remediation activities.
The rebirth of Roncotti
The rebirth of Roncotti
So, vine after vine, pole after pole, wire after wire, we recovered the old vineyard, planted in the seventies and located in the middle of our land, keeping the old vines and giving new life to this fantastic hill. During 2004 and 2005 we plant two new vineyars, recovering the land that had been abandoned before we arrived, because it was too difficult for anyone to work. During the first months of activity, the buildings hadn’t electrical power and candles were the only source of light, or, during full moon periods, the moon itself, extremely bright, enlightened our nights, rising up behind the vineyards. For this reason our brand is designed with the moon.
Bricco dei Roncotti for exposure, slope and terroir represents the ideal to allow the grapes to ripen always perfectly. The hill is characterized during the day by intense natural ventilation, from the base to the top, which generates an incomparable microclimate. Don’t be frightened about the extreme effort necessary to grow it, because the only way to a high quality wine is to take care of the vineyard, of its plants and grapes.
The specificity of our wine is our vineyard!