Vèngore, a biodiversity show

To understand where we find ourselves, let’s do an experiment. Close your eyes, and keep in mind the classic vineyard hills. Shortly hereafter, reopen them in Cascina Vèngore.

You are in the center of a valley that opens up like an amphitheater, surrounded by steep ridges on whose summit the forests dominate. The vine rows run perpendicular to the slopes. On the valley floor, a road leads to the homonymous farmhouse in the exact center of the valley. The wind caresses the grass of the meadows, while einkorn wheat raises light chaff. If you pay attention, you can hear the gentle roar of the water: it is the perennial source of Cucheiriolo, which has been quenching the otherwise arid surrounding hills since time immemorial. It is not the only sound that fills the valley. On the banks of the spring and near a pond with tenches, frogs croak. Between the vineyards, donkeys bray and graze freely, eating some herbs between the vine rows; you can also hear ships bleating or hens scratching the ground as they walk carefree on the estate.

A millenary agricultural paradise

Even two thousand years ago, the Vèngore valley was considered an agricultural paradise, on the main road connecting Cisterna with San Damiano d'Asti. It was a fundus famous in Roman times for its mild climate and fertile lands, already then covered with vines, wheat, and forests. The name, Vengoris, refers to a variety of willow called venghé, which once covered much of the surface. Traces of this very ancient era remain in the incredible archaeological finds of the area: coins, shards, rings, and three marble tombstones from the Roman era, which today decorate the steps of the farmhouse.

However, the real stage show of Vèngore happens in spring. Once the last snow has melted, the vineyards are tinged with astonishing colors, so much so that they resemble a garden: the canary yellow of the mustard blends with that of the dandelion; the blue of the lupine defies the cardinal red of the poppy, while shilly the white pea flower makes its appearance. We let these wild herbs and legumes grow among the vines and at the end of the season, we shred and bury them for green manure to keep the soils fertile and vital. Even the sky of Vèngore teems with life. Protected from the hills full of tall trees, it is the refuge of a great variety of native and migratory birds.

Vèngore wildlife

Robins, kites, doves, finches, buzzards, bee-eaters, red woodpeckers, crowns, and mallards. Hares, fawns, foxes, badgers, and wild boars. Vèngore is a wildlife reserve for many species, which live in the over 60,000 m² of woodlands that we safeguard. The spontaneous forests have been recently joined by another 300 tall trees, which we planted where the soil is drier: oaks, limes, and hornbeams form a new green sanctuary for the valley. Their roots will slowly stimulate the reproduction of black truffles and Tuber Magnatum Pico, the renowned White Truffle of Alba.