Between multimedia and history, a journey to discover a precious native grape variety of Piedmont

It will be a journey between multimedia and experiential, between history and the future, to discover one of Piedmont’s most interesting native grape varieties: the new Ruchè Museum, in Castagnole Monferrato, opens on September 2, promoted by vigneron Luca Ferraris, with the contribution of the Piedmont Region.
In the completely restored exhibition space, which consists of three rooms and the Infernot (i.e., the underground cellar dug into the rock), the narrative of Ruchè unfolds: starting in the first room, where the story begins with the search for gold in California-where Luca Ferraris’ great-grandfather found his fortune-and continues with the documents, farming tools, and agricultural machinery recovered by the family, concluding with the figure of Don Giacomo Cauda, the father of Ruchè. In the 1960s, the parish priest of Castagnole Monferrato was, in fact, the first to recover some abandoned vineyards, believe in the potential of the grapes that these rows yield to produce a varietal, dry, pure wine, which he vinified and began to sell in bottles, thus beginning the establishment of Ruchè in Piedmont. The second room is a tribute to Monferrato, a Unesco heritage site of undoubted beauty, and to the characteristics that make it a terroir suited to the production of great wines, such as the millennia-old geological stratification of the soils. Photos and videos completely embrace the visitor who completes the experience of immersion in the territory also through the olfactory stations where the deep scents of Ruchè are explored. In this room, the protagonist is Randall Grahm, American oenologist, pioneer of the introduction of some French vine varieties in California, longtime friend of Luca Ferraris and forerunner supporter of Ruchè in the United States back in 2003. The third is the Cinema Room: a docufilm that takes the visitor through the modern history of Ferraris and Ruchè, which is increasingly appreciated by international consumers, thus closing the winning tale of a great little native that has conquered the world. The last stop of the museum visit is the Infernot whose stone, white sandstone here also named “da Cantoni”, allows the bottles to be preserved over the years thanks to the humidity and temperature it keeps constant.
“Our wine “told” through a museum”, explains producer Luca Ferraris, who heads the family business, which has 34 hectares of estate vineyards and produces 300,000 bottles, two-thirds of which are represented by Ruchè, “is local culture and contributes to the construction of a new tourism product, which integrates with other wine and food routes and builds the identity of Monferrato. Wine tourism for Ferraris Agricola has always proved to be an important economic item and, in this sector, we are investing significant private resources. In 2022, the visits and tastings in the winery, the Agricirinquito, and the Museum-which was not yet restored-have marked a +40% increase in attendance, almost 12,600 people in our winery alone-over 2021. By creating structured proposals, we have managed to attract new tourists, and our goal remains to nurture this virtuous circuit to serve the territory. That is why the Museum, although already ready, will be open in September 2023: during these summer months we will activate all collaborations with entities, tourist offices, local and non-local area agencies, to include the Museum among the destinations of interest in Monferrato”.