Ernesto Dellapiana is known to say: "I have a crazy love for the earth". This phrase embodies his life; from his birth in Alba, Italy in 1940 through his current stewardship of his family's nineteeth century estate, Cascina Rizzi, in the Treiso zone of Piedmont. His passion for the land of the Langhe and winemaking drove him to reclaim an historic lost family property named Cascina Boito in 1984, the purchase of the Villa Manzola farm in 1997, and further acres of vineyard land in Treiso, Neive and Neviglie through 2016.
Almost directly south of the classic town of Barbaresco lie the classic rolling hills of Treiso, a land steeped in Piedmont history. The Rizzi estate, one of the largest and most interesting in the Barbaresco area, is comprised of 40 total hectares primarily in this famous Trieso zone. From elevations between 200m and 430m, twenty hectares of Nebbiolo produce elegant and sophisticated wines from the vineyard crus Rizzi (from which a Riserva Vigna Boito is also born), Pajoré, Nervo, Manzola, Giacone, and Bricco di Neive. An additional 20 hectares of the estate produce Langhe Nebbiolo, Dolceto D'Alba, Barbera D'Alba and Moscato D'Asti from vineyards in the nearby zone of Neviglie.
It is impossible to visit this very special zone of Barbaresco without traversing the impressive, steep, vine-clad hills of Treiso and partaking in the warm hospitality of their peoples. Their protection of this idyllic environment and the validation of the region and its estates are essential guidelines for the continued growth and work of the Rizzi winery and the Dellapiana family.