Producer Article
Cascina Bruciata
Last edited on 1/21/2015 by ChipGreen
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The history of Cascina Bruciata goes back to 1880, when Carlo Balbo’s great-grand father took ownership due to unexpected circumstances. At that time, the farm was set on fire by jealous local farmers, an event for which it would subsequently be named –
Bruciata in Italian means “burned”. The original owner, a certain Mr. Diena, decided to sell the farm and offered Giovanni Balbo, one of his most skilled and trusted farm-hands, the opportunity to buy the property. Giovanni was grateful and proud, however,
being a simple farmer he didn’t have the means to pay for the land. Mr. Diena, being a good businessman and having faith in Giovanni, allowed him to delay payment for the property. The first year under Balbo’s ownership was humid and very rainy. So
much so, that the surrounding farmers didn’t have faith in that year’s crop and took to making jokes when Giovanni hadn’t given up hope for a successful outcome. With the help of his 7 sons constantly working in the vineyards, he managed to produce
extraordinary grapes under terrible conditions. He was able to demand a very high price for them seeing that everyone else had cut their losses in the vineyards early on. As a result, he was able to quickly pay his original debt and became the official owner
of the farm, entitling it with what would be its name for decades to come, Cascina Bruciata.
The farm became exclusively a winery under the management of Marino Balbo in the 1950’s and only truly began to realize its full potential with his son, Carlo. Carlo, driven by his strong attachment to the vineyards he grew up with and above all, his great
desire to share the great and singular personality of this territory to the world, decided to market the wines in 2000 with the Cascina Bruciata label, honoring the history of the land which had always been a part of his family.
Today, Cascina Bruciata represents the realization of a long coming dream, but more than anything, it is a project that is passionately oriented toward the future, with pride and respect for the land, in the tradition that lives in the spirit of families like the Balbos.
Bruciata in Italian means “burned”. The original owner, a certain Mr. Diena, decided to sell the farm and offered Giovanni Balbo, one of his most skilled and trusted farm-hands, the opportunity to buy the property. Giovanni was grateful and proud, however,
being a simple farmer he didn’t have the means to pay for the land. Mr. Diena, being a good businessman and having faith in Giovanni, allowed him to delay payment for the property. The first year under Balbo’s ownership was humid and very rainy. So
much so, that the surrounding farmers didn’t have faith in that year’s crop and took to making jokes when Giovanni hadn’t given up hope for a successful outcome. With the help of his 7 sons constantly working in the vineyards, he managed to produce
extraordinary grapes under terrible conditions. He was able to demand a very high price for them seeing that everyone else had cut their losses in the vineyards early on. As a result, he was able to quickly pay his original debt and became the official owner
of the farm, entitling it with what would be its name for decades to come, Cascina Bruciata.
The farm became exclusively a winery under the management of Marino Balbo in the 1950’s and only truly began to realize its full potential with his son, Carlo. Carlo, driven by his strong attachment to the vineyards he grew up with and above all, his great
desire to share the great and singular personality of this territory to the world, decided to market the wines in 2000 with the Cascina Bruciata label, honoring the history of the land which had always been a part of his family.
Today, Cascina Bruciata represents the realization of a long coming dream, but more than anything, it is a project that is passionately oriented toward the future, with pride and respect for the land, in the tradition that lives in the spirit of families like the Balbos.