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The PQlin winery is located in Castagnito, a small town in Roero separated from the Langhe hills by the Tanaro River.
This is an area popular with lovers of Piedmontese food and wine, culture, and the outdoors, thanks to its dense network of hiking trails and the Rocche del Roero.
In a winery that combines tradition, technique, attention to the environment and vineyard ecosystems, it is owner Margherita Battaglino who welcomes guests.
The Q, the protagonist of the logo, replacing the syllable /cu/, was chosen as a symbol of continuity between the family of the progenitor Angelo, known as the little one, and the generation to come, the fourth, identified on the label by the sunrise among the Roero hills.
A story that
begins in 1960
in Castagnito
A company with a hundred years of history now in its fourth generation
More than a century ago, it was customary for the grapes harvested by the farmers of Langhe and Roero to be sold mostly at the market in Alba and only a small portion kept for the production of wine for family use.
What is now known as the PQlin Winery was no exception; indeed, in the early 1900s it witnessed the social phenomenon, urbanism, that saw the migration of large masses from the countryside to the cities, Turin in primis.
While most people were leaving, Angelo, Margherita's grandfather, owner of the Cantina, and the youngest of the Battaglino brothers, hence the friendly nickname piculin, remained in his father's house to take care of the management of the land, according to the Piedmontese rural tradition.
As the years went by, those same people who had left the villages returned there, mostly on vacation during the warm season, to reunite with family and friends.
On this occasion they began buying wine in bulk from the small wineries that remained, first in demijohns and only later in bottles.
It was with Barbera grapes that the Battaglino family's winemaking history began: in the Croera area, a hill overlooking the Tanaro valley, where grandfather Angelo inherited the first vineyard from his father.
Here he also built there a ciabòt (small shelter) where at the end of the day he would gather with friends to rest while drinking the fruit of his labor.
The expansion of the rows planted with Barbera in the Cortine area was accompanied by the cultivation of Nebbiolo grapes thanks to the efforts of Margherita's parents, Eleuterio and Michelina.
In the 1980s, betting on the Arneis vine, the Battaglino family created one of the first plantings in the Roero, again in the Cortine area, giving light to a vine that until then had been underestimated and cultivated on the borders of more noble plantings such as Nebbiolo.
Today the winery is run by Margherita Battaglino, who personally oversees all stages of production as well as conducting tastings and guided tours.
The winery now in its third generation looks to the future with her children and grandchildren Chiara, Umberto and Francesca.
The Wines
PQlin produces the most important wines of Roero including Roero DOCG and Roero Arneis DOCG.
The vineyards are located in Castagnito and Guarene, neighboring municipalities but with different physical soil characteristics.
Roero DOCG
From the Croera vineyard, the first to be inherited by grandfather Angelo in the municipality of Castagnito, Roero DOCG is produced purely from Nebbiolo grapes only.
These are historic vineyards more than 40 years old that yield a warm, soft and balanced product with hints reminiscent of ripe fruit and floral scents.
The wine matures for three months in steel and 12 months in barriques followed by aging in glass for 3 months.
Roero DOCG Arneis
Arneis is a white grape variety characteristic of Roero.
It is distinguished by its yellow/greenish color with intense reflections and an aroma of yellow-fleshed fruits in which peach and acacia are predominant.
The same is also present in the Cortine version and produced with grapes derived entirely from the vineyard of the same name present in the village of Guarene, characterized by a limestone/clay soil, for a production of about 1,300 bottles per year.
Unlike traditional Arneis, whose must ferments in steel tanks, in this case maturation takes place in used French oak barriques.
Additional labels
Barbera d’Alba DOC, Langhe Dolcetto DOC, a number of Langhe DOC wines and Passì raisin wine, excellent as a meditation wine or as an accompaniment to aged cheeses, whose fermentation takes place naturally in oak barrels, close the production.
Sustainability and attention to the environment
Pqlin has always had an eye for the green and the environment in order to obtain already in the vineyard a healthy product, minimizing the impact of external factors, therefore also those due to the hand of man.
In fact, no herbicides or systemic products are used, whose active ingredients can be absorbed by roots or leaves to be translocated into the rest of the plant.
Margherita has therefore chosen to implement an organic cultivation system: the winery is currently in conversion so the 2022 production will be able to give rise to certified organic wines from 2023.
Produced Wines
Vineyards Extension
N° of Bottles
Vineyards Location
Agricultural Method
Visits & Tastings
The visit to the winery is essential to make guest aware of the wine they will decide to taste
The visit to the winery and the tasting are led by Margherita, who welcomes guests with typical Roero conviviality: zero-kilometer fruit and water to refresh, which soon gives way to wine.
In a green space jokingly renamed the Solarium del Roero, a panoramic and sunny spot overlooking the surrounding hills and villages, the winery, its history and territory are introduced.
This is followed by a visit to the winery according to the entire grape tour: an instructive and never boring tour, useful at the tasting stage to better understand how the proposed wines are born and evolve and how the style of each is influenced by the type of processing, aging and the containers inside which it rests: steel or wood.
The tasting
It is possible to choose two different types of tastings to be held in the recently renovated tasting room or in the outdoor porch that can accommodate large groups.
Both tastings are accompanied by local gastronomic products of the highest quality.
Roero 100% → 15€/person
- Roero DOCG Arneis
- Langhe Nebbiolo
- Barbera d’Alba DOC
- Roero DOCG
Accompanying: raw and cooked salami, two types the cheeses: Tuma di Roccaverano, Castelmagno della Valgrana and toasted hazelnuts.
Roero…And not only (tasting of 6 wines) → €25/person
- Roero DOCG Arneis
- Roero DOCG Arneis Cortine
- Langhe DOC Nebbiolo
- Barbera d’Alba DOC
- Roero DOCG
- Passito Passì
Accompaniments in addition to the above: fritttata, ratatouille, lardo, desserts (brut and bun hazelnut cookies, hazelnut cake).
Groups
Visit Duration
Booking
Tasting Price
The tasting in ciabòt or in tòpia
This type of tasting is conducted more independently than the traditional tasting in the Cantina
The Battaglino family owns, among the estate vineyards located in Croera, a small ciabòt that is easily reached on foot either independently or accompanied along one of the Roero’s hiking trails.
This small cottage, built by grandfather Angelo, was for him a small castle (castlè) where he loved to spend moments of rest at the end of the working day.
In his honor, the family renamed the small building Ciabòt Castlè.
Here, from spring to early October, it is possible to taste the estate’s wines accompanied by local delicacies at the end of a scenic walk that touches the Croera hill.
Participants are given a picnic basket and a bottle of wine of their choice for every two people.
Upon returning to the winery, the tasting will conclude with the tasting of the remaining wines and desserts (brut and bun hazelnut cookies, hazelnut cake).
This is a convivial moment to be held with friends in fine weather or in late fall, when the hills offer one of the most intense foliage shows in all of Piedmont.
Tasting in the tòpia
It is possible to have an entirely similar experience, but by taking a shorter walk of a few hundred meters starting from the winery to reach the comfortable tòpia set among the rows of vines near the winery overlooking the hills and Guarene Castle and the view of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Art Park, full of large permanent sculptures.
This is a true open-air décor, a pergola offering shade and shelter capable of bringing relaxation and serenity, encouraging chats and conviviality, especially on summer evenings.
Both experiences cost €25/person.
The ciabòt, a small house typical of Roero
Prices & Services
Wine experiences and prices at the Winery
Tastings
The experience includes reception, farm tour and two types of tastings.
Roero 100% → €15
Roero DOCG Arneis
Langhe DOC Nebbiolo
Barbera d'Alba DOC
Roero DOCG
Accompanying: raw and cooked salami, two types the cheeses: Tuma di Roccaverano, Castelmagno della Valgrana and toasted hazelnuts.
Roero...And not only (tasting of 6 wines) → €25
Roero DOCG Arneis
Roero DOCG Arneis Cortine
Langhe Nebbiolo
Barbera d'Alba DOC
Nebbiolo d'Alba
Passito Passì
Accompaniments in addition to the above: fritttata, ratatouille, lardo, desserts (brut and bun hazelnut cookies, hazelnut cake).
Tasting at Ciabòt Castlè or in Tòpia → €25
Services
Accepted Payments
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