Casa Benna

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About Winery and Wines

Winery CASA BENNA® has been owned by Molinari family since 1916. Currently, Andrea Molinari and his nephiew Alessandro Stabile are fully devoted to it. Andrea manages pruning, vinification and business, while Alessandro is responsible for machine automation and maintenance, bottling and vineyard care. Great-grandfather Giovanni used to make wine and sell it. He would lead his horse down to Liguria carrying wine, and come back home bringing olive oil. Molinari family comes from Montezago di Lugagnano. There in 1916, grandfather Pietro bought a small farm named Casa Benna in Castell’Arquato. At that time, the vineyard was a small portion of the overall cultivated land – about 1 hectare – but the wine produced there was already known to be so full-bodied that “it could have been cut with a knife”. In the early 50’s Giovanni purchased the first tractor to replace handwork and eventually in the 60’s CASA BENNA® became a wine-making firm only. With notable long-term foresight, CASA BENNA® has always promoted the D.O.C. Gutturnio. Giovanni had three children: Pietro, Giusy and Andrea. Pietro, who sadly passed away in 1997, worked at the design for the “Cantina Nuova” (the new winery) and the advertising plan for the GUTTURNIO RISERVA wine. From the end of 90’s onward, continuous improvements have been made with regard to vineyard cultivation and wine production, as well as machinery and equipment update. Since 2011 CASA BENNA® has been a member of F.I.V.I. (Italian Federation of Indipendent Wine-makers), the association that represents wine-makers before government. Led by the bond to the land and territory, in 2012 CASA BENNA® joined Campagna Amica foundation, and became a direct point of sales “Campagna Amica”, fostering a 100% Italian supply chain, from producer to consumer.

The hilly vineyards of CASA BENNA® have an area of about 10 hectares and are exposed to the south-east. The soils consist of ferretted clays, characterized by a rather inhomogeneous soil composition. When a vineyard is planted, along the rows, lateral openings are left every 30 to 40 meters. This allows, in harvest, to separate the grapes according to the maturation parameters and their characteristics, and to press them into separate tanks. It is enough to move a few meters to find different grapes and then get different wines: some more suitable for aging, others more suitable to be drunk young. At CASA BENNA® you will never give up this careful selection in harvest, which therefore happens and will always take place manually in small crates and with a selection almost surgical collection. A good harvest is always the result of a vocation terroir, of favorable climatic factors and of correct cultivation operations. The compliance with yields per hectare is rigorous, with an average of around 90 quintals, which fall to 70 for the Gutturnio Classico Riserva. Especially for the barbera, usually generous vine, it is appropriate to reduce the load of bunches per plant to obtain a wine with greater volume.