Pietro Stara è autore del libro “Il discorso del vino” (ZIC Milano, 2013), con cui ha vinto, nel 2015, il premio per la saggistica edita del Centro Pavesiano – CEPAM e del libro “Il vino e la storia” (Sabatelli editore, Savona 2025). La sua ricerca si concentra sul mondo del vino, esplorando temi legati alla sua storia, alla viticoltura e all’enologia. Collabora con diverse testate giornalistiche, sia online che cartacee, approfondendo le tematiche relative al settore. Oltre al suo impegno nel giornalismo, insegna antropologia culturale e sociologia dei consumi, come docente a contratto, presso l’Università di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo.

Pietro Stara

Pietro Stara, autore di "Il discorso del vino" e "Il vino e la storia". Scrittore ed esperto che esplora cultura, storia e filosofia del vino.

Pietro Stara - Autore | Il discorso del vino, Il vino e la

The history of grignolino: roots and legacy of a great Piedmontese grape Dive into the enigmatic world of grignolino with this compelling historical investigation by renowned researcher Pietro Stara. Using an "evidential paradigm"—a detective-like approach—Stara uncovers the mysteries and complex identities of a grape variety that has shaped Piedmontese viticulture, yet whose history has often been overlooked. A historical enigma unfolds The journey begins in the 13th century (1249), tracing the grape’s earliest footsteps back to the monks of Sant’Evasio in Casale Monferrato. At the time, it was known as "Berbesino" or "Barbesino". It wasn’t until a 1614 inventory of the Casale Castle that the name "grignolino" finally appeared in official records. Key highlights of the research: The identity quest: discover how 19th-century ampelographers like Demaria, Leardi, and the traveler Giorgio Gallesio solved the puzzle of its many synonyms, confirming that the "barbesino" of Alessandria and the "grignolino" of Asti were, in fact, the same soul. The etymological debate: the book tackles the fierce disputes linking grignolino to barbera, debunking myths through the rigorous historical analysis of scholars like Senator Desana and Dalmasso. A sparkling past: in a surprising revelation, the text explores grignolino’s role as a pioneer of Italian sparkling wine. Long before its current still-wine reputation, it was crafted using the Méthode Champenoise, winning prestigious awards and ranking as a top choice for spumante production as late as 1924. The white mystery: the investigation even touches upon the elusive "white grignolino," a rare variety mentioned in historical texts and immortalized in the famous 1858 wax fruit models by Francesco Garnier Valletti.

1. History, mathematics and abduction

2. The nineteenth-century ampelographies and Grignolino, or Barbesino

3. Grignolino - TABLE XXI

4. Giorgio Gallesio. The travel journals

5. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries

6. Aldo di Ricaldone and the erroneous attribution of barbesine grapes to ancient Barbera

7. Desana and the refutation of the theses proposed by Father Coppo and then by Giovanni Aldo di Ricaldone

8. A viticultural sub-lexicon

9. A white barbesino or a white Grignolino?

10. Grignolino and the traditional method

11. Documentary appendix

12. Bibliography

5 The nineteenth and twentieth centuries Giovanni Lanza was an important member of the Agricultural Association of Turin, of which he was also secretary for a period. The Association, founded in 1842, represented the most innovative and progressive part of the Piedmontese nobility and bourgeoisie. Lanza collaborated for a long time with the «Gazzetta of the Agricultural Association», writing numerous articles, particularly on viticulture and wine production. In issue 20 of the magazine, published in 1846, Lanza described the situation of Piedmontese viticulture, stating that wine is one of the most important agricultural products of the region and that the vine is cultivated on about one-tenth of the agricultural surface of the Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia. Lanza identiMed the areas most suited to viticulture, such as the Asti area, Vonferrato, Alessandria area, Tortona area,  alenza area and  oghera area, without forgetting Alba, VondovC, Pinerolo, Aosta and Fanavese. kurthermore, he denounced the lacq of precise statistical data on wine production and emphasized how the peasants of the time did not possess sufMcient oenological qnowledge to produce Duality wines with long conservation. xue to these difMculties, Piedmontese wines could not be transported over long distances without losing Duality, limiting their commercialization to local marqets. This problem became even more urgent in 1846, when Austria imposed customs barriers on Lombardy, hindering the eHport of Piedmontese wine. 

TEN WIWNTNNWTE AWx TUNWTINTE FNWTR3INS 97 Lanza proposed Mnding new eHport routes by sea, which would have reDuired an improvement in winemaqing techniDues. Ee also hypothesized the creation of a large company for the sale of Piedmontese wines abroad and the establishment of wine warehouses in the main foreign marqets. Giovanni Lanza owned a farm in 3oncaglia Vonferrato, near Fasale, and praised the Duality of local viticulture, emphasizing how small properties, directly managed by the owners, guaranteed eHcellent results thanqs to attentive and constant care. Eowever, vine diseases such as oidium, phylloHera and peronospora, in addition to economic and social problems, severely tested this favorable situation in the following decades. In 18 0, when Lanza became President of the Founcil of Vinisters, he had to distance himself from his agricultural activities, but he never stopped taqing an interest in his wine business. In some letters to his wife Flementina, he provided precise instructions on wine management in his cellar, demonstrating great attention to detail. In one letter, he instructed his trustee to sell part of the wine and preserve some barrels for domestic consumption. In another letter from kebruary of the same year, he was concerned with sending samples of his Grignolino to two cafOs in Alessandria and Turin that intended to purchase it. In 18 7, as a provincial councilor, Lanza urged the local administration to allocate funds to study methods to combat phylloHera, a vine disease that was spreading rapidly in Nurope. In 188 , regulations were approved for the creation of an AntiphylloHera Fonsortium, which was established in 1888 and remained active until 1707. Eowever, despite efforts, phylloHera arrived in the province of Alessandria in 1878 and spread rapidly between 1700 and 1710. The difMculties in addressing the problem were aggravated by the distrust of peasants, who refused to uproot diseased vines and did not accept the use of American rootstocqs, necessary to combat the disease. 

Roots and Evidence of a Great Piedmontese Grape Variety - The History of Grignolino