SOLD OUT!
Old-School Asti and the Next Generation of Piemonte
THURSDAY, MAY 14
5:30-8pm
Belsö Home and Garden @ 1400 Green Street (directly across from Biondivino)
$30 tasting fee / $25 for Biondivino subscribers / $20 for wine club members
We're honored to host Vittoria Bera, a third-generation winemaker from Asti, Piemonte, whose family estate dates back to 1785. We’ll taste together in the beautiful Belsö garden, just across the street from the shop — an intimate evening with Vittoria, with time to ask questions, hear her family history, and experience their delightful wines up close. This is a guided but informal tasting — standing, relaxed, and conversational — with light bites provided by Penny Roma.
Five wines. One night only. Snacks will be served. Space is limited and tickets are required!
More about the Bera family:
The story of Vittorio Bera & Figli begins in the hills of Canelli, in the heart of Piedmont’s historic Moscato zone, where grape growing has been part of daily life for centuries. The estate dates back to 1785, when the Bera' ancestors originally purchased some of the land from the Knights of Malta. By this time, the cultivation of grapes – and in this area particularly Moscato grapes – was already well-established since the 13th century. By the end of the 18th century – and continuing the 19th and 20th centuries – the fame of Moscato (read: Asti Spumante) spread worldwide, and so did slipshod production methods. With few exceptions, the bulk standardization of this wine has been the norm ever since.
The Bera family is different, and today the estate remains firmly in family hands, led by siblings Alessandra and Gianluigi Bera, and Alessandra's daughter, Vittoria. This was the first estate to bottle and market its own wine in the Canelli region. The estate lies in Sant’Antonio di Canelli, within the region of Serra Masio, the most prestigious and ancient of the area’s Moscato production. In a region where the Mosacato grape has long been associated with industrial production and sweetness at scale, the Bera family has taken a different path. They farm organically, working steep, calcareous marl slopes by hand, and ferment without commercial yeasts or additives. The goal is not to correct or standardize, but to preserve what is naturally present in the fruit. Their Moscato d’Asti is not a caricature of the style, but something more precise and alive — aromatic, yes, but also lifted, mineral, and quietly complex. This same care extends across the rest of their work. Barbera and Dolcetto are grown and vinified with equal attention, alongside a mix of native white varieties, Cortese, Favorita, and Arneis. In the cellar, the approach remains consistent: spontaneous fermentations, no fining or filtration, and little to no added sulfur.
In many ways, Vittorio Bera & Figli stands as a counterpoint to the broader evolution of modern wine. Where much of the industry has moved toward consolidation and uniformity, the Bera family has remained focused on something smaller and more enduring. Their wines are not designed to meet expectations; they simply reflect the place they come from and the choices made along the way. And that is ultimately what makes them so compelling. They offer a vision of Piedmont that is both deeply traditional and quietly radical – one where wine is reclaimed not as a commodity, but as something of character, history, and real, lived-in meaning.