Agostino Pavia & Figli

Establishing a territorial identity

Agostino Pavia’s history is rooted in its vineyards and in Agliano Terme. The estate is run by Giuseppe and Mauro Pavia, whose objective has been to establish a strong identity between their wines and the land they cultivate. All of the vineyards belong to the company.

Vineyard selection in the 1980s

During the 1980s, the family selected vineyard sites considered particularly suitable for Barbera. The purpose was to produce wines capable of expressing the terroir of the local growing area. Selection in the vineyard was subsequently paired with differentiated maturation regimes, leading to four interpretations of Barbera d’Asti: La Marescialla, Moliss, Blina and Casareggio.

Commercial development and international presence

Over the ensuing years, the estate received recognition and participated in fairs, tastings and wine events, including Vinitaly and ProWein. Its wines reached markets in Northern Europe, the United States and Asia. Oenologist Lorenzo Quinterno became a long-standing collaborator, working with the family on a dedicated maturation approach for each of the four Barbera d’Asti bottlings.

2009: Cascina La Marescialla

In 2009, the family opened Agriturismo Cascina La Marescialla for wine tourism and rural holidays. Its name preserves the historical association of the hill on which the property stands and reinforces the estate’s connection with its surroundings.

The vineyard approach is based on allowing the soil to nourish the vines while avoiding unnecessary stress during plant growth. Particular attention is paid to the active ingredients used in vineyard treatments.

Canopy and crop work includes cleaning or selecting shoots and retaining the best grape clusters. Manual work is central to the estate’s approach: it is intended to deliver fruit that carries the vineyard’s character into the cellar. The emphasis is therefore on selection, restrained treatment of the plants and preservation of the clay-derived terroir rather than on forcing vine growth.

The cellar is divided into dedicated areas for vinification, maturation, ageing and bottling. Its walls are in contact with the surrounding earth, helping maintain the controlled temperatures regarded as important throughout production.

The cellar philosophy combines technology with traditional practice. Barbera vinification employs extended skin maceration, followed by carefully judged maturation. The available cellar vessels include barriques, tonneaux and small wooden casks; elsewhere in the range, large casks and stainless-steel tanks are also used. The family and oenologist Lorenzo Quinterno develop a distinct maturation path for each of the four Barbera d’Asti interpretations, using the choice of vessel and duration to preserve balance and integrate tannins.

At range level, La Marescialla is selected from old-vine fruit and follows a barrique-led maturation; Moliss combines tonneaux and large casks; Blina matures in stainless steel; and Casareggio combines stainless steel with a period in a large cask. These differing regimes are designed to present four expressions of the same territory without separating them from their shared terroir.