Roberto Sarotto | Piemonte

Roberto Sarotto can trace his winemaking history back to 1820, when Giuseppe Sarotto, the founder of the family, arrived in Neviglie from Barbaresco. He was the first generation to undertake winemaking, followed by his son Giovanni and then his grandson Luigi Giovanni. Production was originally limited to just Dolcetto, which was traded both on the local market and exported wholesale to England.

In the early 1940s, with the advent of the Second World War and phylloxera, the industry suffered a period of recession and business came dramatically to a standstill. Angelo succeeded his father and was determined to continue the family business, tending the vineyards on his parents’ land. Thanks to the support of his wife Maria, they expanded cultivation to include new grape varieties including Moscato, Freisa and Barbera.

In 1984, Angelo’s son Roberto graduated from wine school in Alba, marking a new beginning for the winemaking activity that had come to a halt years before. Seven years later, the purchase of a 20-hectare property in Barolo was a turning point in the development of the winery, taking it into the circle of the most renowned producers in Piedmont. The expansion of the estate was just beginning. Vineyards in the most important crus in the municipality of Neive were annexed over the next few years, adding Barbaresco to the range of wines produced under the Sarotto family name. In the early 1990s, Roberto and his wife Aurora, pushed their ambitions even further, to the area of Gavi, where they subsequently set up a secondary winery.

Other grape varieties have since been introduced, including Moscato d’Asti, Arneis, Chardonnay, Brachetto, Nebbiolo and Cabernet Sauvignon. With the latest addition of Barbera d’Asti to the range, the “Roberto Sarotto” estate is now able to boast an impressive extension of vineyards, producing the most prestigious qualities and varieties of DOC and DOCG wines, yet still retaining its family dimension.