Historia
Notary documents from the 19th century attest to the presence of the Rocca family in the township of Barbaresco since 1834, the same year our ancestor Francesco (1834-1894) was born. In 1864, Francesco drafted the prenuptial agreements with his future wife, Luigia Cheinasso. In the document, Francesco is defined as “a farmer born and living in Barbaresco”, the co-owner with his brother Giuseppe of “houses, sites, vineyards, and slopes” located within the township.
According to later documents, our family’s activity revolved around a multi-purpose farm. Viniculture was an important part of the household finances alongside fields for foraging and raising livestock.
Leaping ahead to the end of the 1950s, our family history becomes inextricably tied to one of the most celebrated cru of these hills: Rabajà. It was due to the intuition and courage of Francesco Rocca (1907-1978), nephew of the first Francesco, that the family moved from the center of Barbaresco to the zone of Rabajà at its most southern point in 1958.
The land in Rabajà had always been renowned for producing high quality grapes; in fact, they were sold at a significantly higher price than other nebbiolo grapes from Barbaresco. Further proof of its quality comes from the fact that the community winery to which we sold our grapes in 1967 already bottled them separately under the label “Vineyards from southwest Rabajà.”