Demarie

Foundations and the first family vineyards

The Demarie story began with Bartolomeo Demarie, who believed that the local landscape could be interpreted through wine and founded the family cellar. Investing in wine was an economic gamble at the time, but the early results encouraged the family to continue.

In 1946, Giovanni Demarie and his brother planted what remains the estate’s oldest Nebbiolo vineyard. The planting took place after Giovanni’s brother returned from the war. The very sandy site later became the source of the estate’s Roero DOCG Riserva.

1957 and the second generation

The agricultural business dates its formal start to 1957. Giovanni, Bartolomeo’s son, joined the enterprise and carried the work into the second generation. The estate developed upon Bartolomeo’s foundations while retaining a family model grounded in traditional production, farming culture and attachment to the Roero.

The third generation

Aldo and Paolo Demarie represent the third generation. Aldo assumed responsibility for the productive side of the estate, from vineyard care through vinification, learning directly from his father through practical work in vineyard and cellar. Paolo returned to the family business after training in accounting and took responsibility for relationships with customers and suppliers, international promotion and cellar tastings.

Monica Bizzini joined the family enterprise after marrying Paolo in 2007. With a degree in economics and business and previous commercial experience at a multinational company, she assumed responsibilities spanning hospitality, communications, marketing, administration and shipping documentation.

Under the third generation, the vineyard holding grew from the 14 ha recorded in the 2014 catalogue and 16 ha described in a later 2018 document to more than 20 ha. The present vineyards extend through Vezza d’Alba, Castagnito, Castellinaldo and Guarene, while production records also identify Nebbiolo sites in Neive and La Morra.

The new cellar

The present cellar was inaugurated in 2013. Its construction combined traditional materials, including wood and brick, with modern insulation and environmental systems. The building achieved the A+ energy classification. Rooftop photovoltaic panels produce electricity, while certified hydroelectric power from Grosio supplements on-site generation. Heating is supplied by a biomass boiler capable of using waste wood and pruned vine shoots; heat pumps help maintain a stable temperature during wine maturation. Wastewater passes through three stages of natural phytoremediation, after which the treated water is used to irrigate the estate’s green areas.

Organic conversion

After the required three-year conversion from conventional agriculture, the estate released its first certified-organic wine from the 2020 harvest. The project was presented as a return to the family’s agricultural origins and as a commitment to environmental care, consumer protection and the conservation of the resources on which territorial expression depends. Subsequent releases include other wines identified as organic, while a 2024 Roero Arneis technical document carries the SQNPI sustainability mark.

Continuing family stewardship

The family continues to combine inherited vineyard and cellar knowledge with technical development. Its declared intention is to pass the Roero’s agricultural knowledge to future generations, preserving a direct connection between family, vineyards and finished wine.

Viticultural decisions are made by micro-zone, with varieties matched to individual sites. The estate applies integrated pest-management principles and adapts pruning, crop thinning and other agricultural work to local conditions.

The vineyards are grassed, and more aggressive treatments are reduced to the minimum considered necessary. During the 2020 growing season, work included tying shoots to support wires, removing secondary shoots from the trunks and applying organic crop-protection products when required.

Harvesting is manual. Bunches undergo careful selection before vinification, maintaining a direct link between vineyard work and the fruit accepted into the cellar. Published vineyard records identify traditional or simple Guyot as the principal training system, with modified Guyot documented for Barolo.

The estate completed a three-year organic conversion before releasing its first certified-organic wine from the 2020 harvest. Its definition of organic production excludes chemical pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and genetically modified organisms from grape growing, while cellar operations must use products and processes permitted under EU Regulation 203/2012. Organic certification is shown on subsequent releases, and a 2024 Roero Arneis document displays the SQNPI sustainability mark.

Biodiversity protection forms part of the estate’s declared agricultural approach. Vineyard health, natural resources and the broader environment are treated as prerequisites for wines that retain the identity of their place of origin.

Only grapes associated with the estate’s own vineyard production are presented as entering the cellar, and bunches are selected before processing. The general process centres on gentle pressing, temperature-controlled fermentation and maturation in selected wood, with the objective of preserving aromatic integrity and the natural characteristics of each variety.

The fermentation area contains modern temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks alongside older concrete vats retained from an earlier period of cellar practice. General descriptions refer both to controlled-temperature fermentation and to long fermentations, depending on the wine.

Age-worthy wines mature in large Slavonian-oak casks and French barriques. Used barriques are specifically employed for the oldest-vineyard Roero Riserva so that maturation rounds the wine without dominating its typical flavour and aroma. The cellar also uses large casks for Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Barbera d’Alba Superiore, with the duration adapted to the individual wine.

The bottling and labelling rooms handle finished-wine storage and market-specific labelling. A vacuum is created inside the bottle to help protect product integrity. The estate manages fermentation, maturation, bottling and labelling within the cellar.

The cellar’s environmental design supports production through photovoltaic electricity, certified supplementary hydroelectric power, biomass heating, heat pumps that stabilize maturation-room temperature and a three-stage natural phytoremediation system for wastewater.

The family defines its work through authenticity, traditional production and respect for biodiversity. Wine is understood as the final expression of a continuous cycle beginning in the vineyard, passing through the family cellar and carrying both the character of the grapes and the knowledge accumulated across generations.

Aldo Demarie’s approach is to care for wine as a living agricultural product and to preserve its natural character. In practice, this means limiting aggressive vineyard treatments, favouring grassing and using cellar techniques intended to enhance rather than obscure varietal identity and origin.

The estate presents environmental stewardship as a responsibility rather than a passing market trend. Organic production is framed as a return to agricultural origins, while protection of soils, water and other natural resources is treated as essential to expressing the identity of the territory.

Tradition is combined with technical improvement rather than treated as its opposite. Older concrete tanks coexist with modern temperature-controlled steel; traditional wood maturation is supported by a highly energy-efficient cellar; and inherited practical knowledge remains central to the family’s use of contemporary equipment.

Family continuity is another stated principle. Vineyard and cellar knowledge passed from Bartolomeo to Giovanni and then to Aldo and Paolo is intended to reach the next generation.