My name is Antonio Basso. Or rather Durin”. The owner of the company from Ortovero does not beat around the bush, as it is the custom of the people from Savona’s inland. A philosophy which is passed on from father to son, starting from the great grandfather Isidoro Basso, shortened in Doro, which became Durin in dialect, who is the forefather. Histories which date back one century, for a thesis which is repeated in the times of Internet, also with the help of technology, which supports the family website.
“Few people know me by name, but in this area, anyone can clearly tell you the way to Cantina Durin.” Itineraries of farm life and dedication to hard work are the basic concepts of a success. Without forgetting the teachings of those who paved the way, today, for Antonio and his wife Laura, the main part of the challenge which comes after the hard work on the soil looks towards Toirano caves, near Savona.
The idea started some 10 years ago and gets bigger with every passing season.”Thanks to the authorization from the Supervising Authority of the Archaeological Heritage of Liguria and to the cooperation of the municipality of Toirano, which have not hindered our ambitions, currently three classical method spumante wines have their extraordinary ageing process in the perfect cellar, which is visited by thousands of tourists. The reference is to the paradise of stalactites and stalagmites, located within a unique tourist itinerary.
“Here, people from all over the world come also to closely admire the wine kept in special boxes”, the entrepreneurs from Ortovero explained.
The bottles which in turn are placed in the cave are 12,000 in total, a small sample of the 120,000 which are produced annually on the 16 hectares of land of the Basso family. A niche product which, however, also flies to Australia and California, taking across the ocean the tastiness of Liguria. Not only marketing.
The reasons are explained directly by Antonio and Laura. “The humidity of the caves reaches 90% and the temperature is steady at some 15 degrees, in a dark and silent environment, with no vibrations. All this represents an ideal location for wine ageing. In Toirano, there are three classical method spumante wines: Riunda, Pigato in purity, refined on yeasts for 10 years, Bàsura Obscura, refined for three years, like the more recent Bàsura Rosa, produced from rossese and granaccia. All this finds growing shape, dimension and personality inside the cave Grotta Bàsura: one of the most suggestive corners of the natural monument of Toirano. The pride of Durin does not end with the originality of this idea. The certification of real quality has been awarded with many prizes, such as the first prize at the International Challenge Euposia, dedicated only to spumante wines made with the classical method of re-fermentation in the bottle. The list of acknowledgements, however, is endless: “Experts deem that our product is subtle, complex and at the same time original from the sensorial point of view. We look at the future with enthusiasm and professionalism, without ever forgetting the country-like advices passed on in the Durin family.”
