Il Botolo – where beauty and goodness combine!

Settled among the Asti hills which stretch as far as Acqui Terme, near Nizza Monferrato, I visited an estate with a curious name, “Le Coccole“, a name which evokes tenderness and passion but also, in this case, attention to detail! I am welcomed by the owner Diana Bracco De Silva who is also famous for the family’s pharmaceutical business. An austere but passionate lady, she is also very fond of the estate where she loves to spend her days relaxing, especially during the harvest period. The estate of approximately 13 hectares is part of the Il Botolo Winery, so called after the dog which Roberto and Diana De Silva found in the estate’s house which they bought many years ago, and of which they became so fond that they decided to name the company after it. The inside of the house features a specially designated wine-tasting room while the outside has a pleasant portico in front of the garden with several tables where you can sit and admire the surrounding views while enjoying a glass of wine “en plain air”. In the wine cellar their excellent Classic Method sparkling wine can be found maturing, created in line with the owner’s desires with their stylized profile on the label, while in the barrique cellar you can find 225 liter oak barrels containing their flagship Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOCG and Nizza DOCG. Since the beginning, the owners Roberto and Diana De Silva have always aimed to produce important, niche wines, in only limited quantities, where the quality of the wine is rooted in the care of the vineyard and in the development of the land. Their attention to detail with both the vineyard and the wine cellar is almost obsessive and all the wines I tasted express this style, where beauty and goodness are combined. It is possible to stroll among the rows of vines within the estate and enjoy a guided wine-tasting (by appointment only) where you can taste some of the wines they produce: Chardonnay, Moscato, Barbera, Barbera Superiore and Nizza.