The Priest’s wine: a rare Piedmontese treat

'If there is one Italian grape variety that wine lovers really ought to know, it is Ruchè. A rare example of an aromatic red variety, Ruchè makes wines that are impossible to confuse with any other variety.'
— Ian d’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy

In 1964, a new priest was appointed to the parish of Castagnole Monferrato. Along with the church and his office, Father Giacomo Cauda was given a few rows of vines, and he duly set about making communion wine. He didn't like his first vintage, and the next year he paid more attention to the vineyard. He was familiar with the Barbera and the Grignolino, but there was another grape variety he didn’t recognise. Locals told him it was the rare Ruchè. 'At last,' he said, 'I know what is ruining my wine.'

Except it wasn't. The following year, Father Cauda vinified the Ruchè apart. But instead of the bad wine he expected, it was an epiphany, aromatic and complex and delicious. Thereafter, he was a convert. He purchased a hectare of land, and planted 4,000 Ruchè vines. He became the first person to bottle and sell monovarietal Ruchè. With the money this brought in, he built an oratory and renovated the rectory, so he hoped God would forgive the indecent haste with which he would run out of Mass and jump on his tractor.

A few other local producers followed his lead to make their own Ruchè, and now it even has its own DOCG: Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato. It remains a very niche variety — there are only about 200 hectares of Ruchè under vine. Locally, it's called 'the red prince of Monferrato'. Family winery Ferraris are Ruchè specialists, and in 2016 they leapt at the chance to buy Father Cauda's original Ruchè vineyard. It gives them their flagship bottling, the Vigna del Parroco, the parish priest's wine. It’s a delicious capture of Ruchè's distinctive identity, a raspberry freshness twinned with balsamic earthiness. Uncorked’s own tasting note reads 'musk in a pine forest'. Ferraris release Vigna del Parroco in a slightly squat, bell-shaped bottle, a tribute to the bottles Father Cauda released in his lifetime. /NT

Offered subject to remaining unsold. Wines available imminently. To place an order, click on the wines below or call 020 7638 5998