THE FOUR MUSKETEERS OF THE DOC Let’s return to the aforementioned Martinotti method, named after its inventor, Federico Martinotti. He was (already director of the ) the one who devised and patented in 1895 in Italy, France, and Switzerland the method of controlled refermentation in an autoclave; operationally, the equipment to carry it out was then built and patented around 1910 by the Frenchman Eugène Charmat (French obviously, just so as not to contradict ourselves...) from which the double name sometimes used of Martinotti-Charmat method. is remembered as one of the "Four Musketeers of the DOC". Experimental Institute for Oenology of Asti Federico Martinotti In addition to , our protagonist, we remember , a journalist and politician who cheered for Italian viticulture, and , who contributed significantly to many of these initiatives. The latter, Ottavi, who graduated in France at the oldest French institution in the agricultural field, within the Casale Provincial Council, on the proposal of Giovanni Lanza, moved to Casale Monferrato, where he became a professor of agriculture. An internationally renowned agronomist like Ottavi chose Casale and Monferrato to develop his professional commitments, and this is also explained by the fact that the Casale District distinguished itself at the time as “ ”, a place of absolutely privileged agriculture. Paolo Desana Arturo Marescalchi Giuseppe Antonio Ottavi the most viticultural of the Sabaudo Kingdom Andrea says he believes it is appropriate to define the Monferrato of the mid-nineteenth century as an that, compared with French competitors, showed its potential. agricultural Silicon Valley In addition to having written the founding rules of agriculture, Ottavi also served as a publisher. Of his ten children, fortunately, two ensured continuity: they resumed the publication of the ‘Journal of the Wine Grower’, the first Italian agricultural newspaper founded in 1845, and therefore celebrated its first 50 years in 1895.