Canelli writes the future by giving luster to the past: census of Underground Cathedrals kicks off

Canelli, the cradle of Moscato d’Asti, with its UNESCO World Heritage “Underground Cathedrals”, and a territory that has recently been awarded Docg status, aims to strengthen its role as Asti’s capital of sparkling wine by enhancing its unique treasure through the census and mapping of all the cellars and places in the “underground city”. It is a project that looks to the past to write the future, carried out by the “Canelli Ipogea” Committee, and that puts the spotlight on the city's historical roots by focusing on the census of its ancient cellars, authentic underground jewels that tell of centuries of winemaking tradition. How? Through concrete action to map, catalog and enhance every historic winery, including those that have been abandoned, forgotten or hidden for some time. The goal is to rediscover, preserve and give new impetus to historic wineries, making them protagonists of a cultural and economic renaissance of the city that cannot but embrace the wine tourism aspect as well. Moreover, in few other places can you “breathe” the history of wine as in Canelli: in 1865, with Carlo Gancia, the Metodo Classico sparkling wine was born here, the forerunner of Asti Spumante tied 100% with Moscato grapes. From there originated the sparkling wine production chain, which thanks to wine processing technologies is expressed today in the Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti types. Vine and Moscato cultivation has been predominant in the Canelli area since the 14th century. Then the development, especially in the early twentieth century with the Casalese Federico Martinotti (for a long time director of the Royal Experimental Enological Station of Asti), who perfected the process of preparing wine for fermentation.
“Underground Cathedrals” “materialize” in miles of tunnels and galleries dug, directly, into the tuff of the hills, between the 16th and 19th centuries, places where the silences recall those of ancient Cathedrals. Here, protected by the earth, the right temperature and constant humidity could be found, ideal requirements for aging quality wines and sparkling wines, a practice still used today to mature the product while waiting to go to market and become the ideal sweet bubbles for a special toast. Canelli was the starting point of the project that later led to the recognition of Piedmont’s wine-growing landscapes as UNESCO site No. 50 in Italy elected as a World Heritage Site. The four underground Cathedrals that can currently be visited are the prestigious cellars of names that have made history in the area: Bosca, Contratto, Coppo and Gancia.
The “Cabelli Ipogea” project kicking off invites owners of historic wineries to share stories, documents and testimonies, contributing to a detailed and accurate mapping of the city’s hypogeal heritage. The census will include collecting historical information on each winery, including photos, labels and winery brands; organizing meetings with experts, historians and architects to plan recovery and redevelopment interventions; and carrying out activities to enhance the wineries, with thematic events, historical re-enactments and the possibility of putting some structures on loan for use by small local producers.