Giacomo Bologna's Braida winery is the story of Barbera, a great passion and dedication handed down over several generations to write an important history of Piedmontese oenology.
'Braida' was the nickname that Giacomo's father, Giuseppe Bologna, a carter by profession, had earned while playing elastic ball, because of his resemblance to a champion of the sport. From his father Giacomo inherited, along with his nickname, a love of sport and horses and a large Barbera vineyard in the hills of Rocchetta.
The first harvest of wines from the Braida cellar dates back to 1961, when Giacomo Bologna decided to bottle the lively Barbera del Monferrato 'La Monella'. In 1969, this wine was presented at the Douja d'Or national wine competition in Asti, winning the gold medal that allowed it to participate in various fairs free of charge.
At the beginning of 1982, Giacomo began experimenting with his innovative idea of coupling Barbera - barrique, a revolutionary idea. He transformed Barbera from an acidic, ready-to-drink wine into a unique, complex and long-lived wine by refining it, for the first time in the history of the vine, in French oak barriques. Thus were born the legendary wines such as Bricco dell'Uccellone and Bricco della Bigotta, which remain the symbols of the Braida winery to this day.
Today, Giacomo Bologna is widely regarded as the father of Barbera, who has made this Piedmontese grape variety known throughout the world.
