Ezio CerrutiAzienda Agricola
"He who experiments can lose, he who doesn't experiment has already lost." The philosopher of Monferrato proves Moscato is anything but simple—wild vineyards, profound Passito, and rebellious Col Fondo from the misty hills between Asti and Langhe.
From conventional farming to radical non-intervention—how one man's rebellion transformed Moscato into a wine of profound philosophy.
In 1982, Ezio Cerruti took over the family farm in Castiglione Tinella, deep in the heart of Moscato d'Asti territory. For nearly two decades, he farmed conventionally, until a philosophical awakening led him to abandon chemicals entirely and embrace a wilder, more truthful approach to viticulture.
In 2001, he began producing wine under his own label, committing to organic farming in an era when monoculture and intensive agriculture dominated the Monferrato landscape. While neighbors pursued industrial Moscato for the sweet sparkling market, Ezio planted trees between rows, allowed wildflowers to overgrow his vineyards, and let his old vines—up to 75 years old—express the limestone slopes at 400 meters elevation.
His cellar became a sanctuary for natural wine philosophy, where indigenous yeasts reign, sulfur is reduced to homeopathic levels (3 grams per 100 liters), and wines spend years in old barrels until deemed ready. Ezio's generosity of spirit and connection to the land attracted a who's who of natural wine legends—Beppe Rinaldi, Maria-Theresa Mascarello, and others—who recognized in his wines a kinship of intent: pure, uncompromising, and deeply human.
"Moscato without makeup"—wild grass, complete biodiversity, and the patience to let grapes wither on the vine for months.
Ezio refuses to accept that Moscato Bianco must result in simple, sweet, ephemeral wines. His radical act is patience: for his legendary Sol, he cuts the shoots connecting grape bunches to the vine in autumn, leaving them to wither and concentrate in the dappled sunlight for months, developing botrytis cinerea in the cool Monferrato mist.
His vineyards appear almost abandoned to the untrained eye—wild grass carpets the limestone slopes, wildflowers compete with vines, and trees provide biodiversity in a sea of monoculture. This is not neglect, but intentional ecosystem management. "The complete exclusion of synthetic chemical products," as he defines it, combined with grassing and minimal copper treatments.
In the cellar beneath his home, fermentations last over a year, wines mature in old barrels until they decide they're ready (often three years or more), and nothing is clarified, filtered, or manipulated. The result is not "natural wine" as a category, but wine as living geography—amber, saline, and impossibly alive.
Wild Biodiversity
Castiglione Tinella—where the Alpine limestone meets Monferrato mist. Old pergola vines suspended between Asti and Langhe.
Altitude
Steep limestone slopes between 350-400 meters above sea level, catching the morning mist that drifts between the Alps and the Po Valley, perfect for noble rot development.
Training
Traditional Moscato pergola training on 60-75 year old vines, with wild grass and flowers growing freely beneath. A living ecosystem rather than manicured rows.
Soil
Chalky limestone soils of Monferrato, rich in marine fossils from ancient seabeds. The same geological formation that gives Champagne its minerality appears here in misty Piedmont.
From the amber profundity of Sol to the electric immediacy of RiFol—Moscato in every possible guise, pure and radical.
Sol
The wine that defies Moscato's reputation. Made since 2005 from botrytized grapes left to wither on the cut vine for months. Fermented in old wooden casks for over a year, aged minimum three years before release. Light amber, with dried apricots, roasted nuts, raisins, and whipped cream. Profound, saline, and nearly immortal.
Fol
"Crazy" in local dialect—dry Moscato that nobody asked for but everyone craves. Fermented in cement with wild yeasts, matured in old barrels, bottled bone dry and unfiltered. Bursting with citrus, orange blossom, and chalky minerality. Impossible to drink just one bottle; the ultimate contradiction of serious Moscato.
RiFol
Ancestral method pét-nat (rifermentato in bottiglia), un-disgorged with natural sediment. "Ri" for re-fermented, "Fol" for crazy. Gently perfumed with meadow flowers and citrus pith, mineral and refreshing with the yeasty texture of true Col Fondo. Captures the electric energy of young Moscato on limestone.
Mac Fol
Moscato with skin contact—an heretical act in Asti territory. Extended maceration on the skins gives this wine structure, tannin, and amber depth. Textural and complex, challenging preconceptions about the "neutral white" nature of Moscato Bianco. Limited production, age-worthy, profound.
Rifol Rosato
A rosé of Freisa (indigenous Piedmont red) and Moscato Bianco—an unlikely marriage that bridges the aromatic and the savory. Fresh, floral, with the crunch of Freisa's natural acidity and the perfume of Moscato. Fermented and aged in old wood, bottled with minimal sulfur.
Rosso
Since Ezio works exclusively with Moscato in his own vineyards, he sources red grapes from friendly, like-minded winemakers in the Langhe and Monferrato—likely Barbera, Dolcetto, or Freisa. Made with the same non-interventionist philosophy: wild fermentation, no fining, minimal sulfur, pure expression of Piedmontese reds.
The Philosopher of Monferrato
Ezio Cerruti has accomplished the impossible: he transformed Moscato Bianco—synonymous with industrial sweet sparkling wine—into a vehicle for profound terroir expression and natural wine philosophy. In a region obsessed with DOCG certification and commercial volume, Ezio's "garage wines" demonstrate that the grape matters less than the intention.
His friendships with Barolo's greatest traditionalists (Rinaldi, Mascarello) place him in the pantheon of Piedmontese icons, yet his humility and generosity define his character. He produces fewer than 15,000 bottles annually across all cuvées, yet his influence extends to every natural wine bar from Copenhagen to Tokyo that dares to pour cloudy, amber Moscato with reverence.
- Pioneer of serious dry Moscato (Fol)
- Master of botrytized Passito in Monferrato (Sol)
- Wild biodiversity advocate in chemical-intensive region
- Part of the "natural wine philosopher" community
- Proves "lesser" grapes can produce profound wine
- Inspires new generation of Italian natural vignerons