Tenuta Carretta has been around for more than 550 years and is located in southern Piedmont, in Piobesi d’Alba, in Roero. It is a winery with a rich story, one of the most historic Italian wineries where past, present and future are integrated in the best way.
But Tenuta Carretta is above all a winery of people working together to achieve one common goal: to produce high-quality and important wines that are pleasant and enjoyable to drink.
Not so long ago, it was thought that the name “Carretta” was derived from the Celtic word “Car,” meaning “stone.” This would refer to a large chalk bench that still stands a short distance from the entrance to the estate. However, recent research in the medieval archives by historian Baldassare Molino has revealed the existence of an Albean noblewoman (the “domina Careta”), who was a landowner in the municipality of Piobesi. Her surname (Constanzi) appears in a deed of sale of land in Piobesi d'Alba in 1353, found in the archives of the counts of Roero di Guarene. In the deed, she is named as the daughter of an Albean nobleman, Ruffino Capre, and the widow of the nobleman, Manuele Constanzi, whose surname she retained. Another deed, written two decades earlier in 1334, mentions some “heirs of Careta Constanzi,” presumably the grandmother of “domina” Carretta.
From these and other documented references, it seems clear that the estate took its name from the noblewoman who was its first owner.
It is nothing more than a contract drawn up on November 28, 1467, by the notary Giorgio di Monteacuto (now Monteu Roero) that can be considered the starting point of the estate's history. In it, the then owner, Andrea Damiano, lord of Piobesi, gave permission to the Porrini brothers—Corrado, Giacomino, and Pietrino—to work and cultivate (and harvest) his land at “cassina Careta” for nine years.
It is a document of extraordinary value due to its wealth of detail. It even includes the obligations that the farmers undertook for the cultivation; as far as the vines were concerned, they had to diligently “putare” (prune), ‘agonzare’ (repair), “et scarzorare” (trim), in short, do everything that was necessary and appropriate according to custom. However, the grapes from the vines on the Podio hills were still the property of the lord, without any impediment (salvo et reservato vites Podi Serre, de quibus sen nil impedire teneantur et debeant”).
The act concludes with a final declaration: while all harvested grapes are divided in two, those from the vines on the hill of Podio (Podium Serrae) are reserved for the lord, without any hindrance from anyone (“salvo et reservato vites Podi Serrae, de quibus sen nil impedire teneantur et debeant”), it is a certificate of “ante litertam.” Unique in the history of Piedmont, and perhaps Italy, for the quality of the vineyard that still dominates the vineyards of other wineries to this day.
In 1811, after 350 years, ownership passed from Marquis Damiano to the Count of Roero, who cultivated the land for 120 years. In 1932, he donated the estate to the Veglia family from Turin. In 1985, the property finally passed to the Miroglio family from Alba, founders and owners of the textile group of the same name.
All of Tenuta Carretta's vineyards are part of the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato wine region, an area that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 and today covers approximately 70 hectares. Tenuta Carretta is located in Piobesi d'Alba, Roero, a hilly area north of the city of Alba and on the left bank of the Tanaro River. This is where the headquarters are located, surrounded by just under 35 hectares of vineyards. South of the river lie the hills of the Langhe, where the remaining 35 hectares of vineyards are located, for a total of 70 hectares.
