The Casa Benna Winery

CASA BENNA® has belonged to the Molinari family since 1916.

Currently, Andrea Molinari and his nephew Alessandro Stabile dedicate themselves to its running full time.

Andrea handles pruning and takes care of vinification and business relations, while Alessandro is in charge of mechanisation and manages both vineyards and bottling.

The Winery’s History

Great-grandfather Giovanni made wine and was also a trader: with his horse, he would go down to Liguria laden with wine and come back with equal amounts of oil.

The Molinari family traces its roots back to Montezago di Lugagnano. Grandfather Pietro is credited with purchasing the property of Casa Benna in Castell’Arquato in 1916.

At the time, the amount of land devoted to growing vineyards was small, about a hectare or so, but already rumours were spreading of a wine that you could “cut with a knife”.

It was thanks to Giovanni that, in the early 50s, we bought our first tractor, which is still preserved to this day. Similarly, it was his idea to, in the 60s, have the estate specialise exclusively in vineyards. He was also, with some foresight, one of the promoters of Gutturnio DOC wine.

Giovanni had 3 children: Pietro, Giusy and Andrea.

Pietro, who passed away prematurely in 1997, is credited not only with designing the new wine cellar but also for introducing Gutturnio Riserva wine to the estate, aged in 10 hl oak barrels so that the wood aroma would not overpower the wine itself.

Starting from the end of the last century, our commitment to the pursuit of quality both in the vineyard and the wine cellar became a constant, as did the modernising of machinery and tools.

In the early 2000s, we became part of the “Strada dei vini e dei sapori dei colli piacentini”, a popular wine and tasting route in the Piacenza hills.

Since 2011, CASA BENNA® has been a member of “F.I.V.I – Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti” (the Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers), an association whose aim it is to represent and safeguard winegrowers in the presence of larger institutions by promoting the quality and authenticity of Italian artisanal wines.

As ever guided by our bond with the land and soil, CASA BENNA® joined the “Campagna Amica” foundation in 2012, becoming a “Punto Campagna Amica”, or direct sale outlet from grower to consumer, for an all-Italian agricultural supply chain.

In 2019, we joined the “Piacenza Land of Values” project, established to promote the most outstanding products from our region.

We have also taken part in the “Assapora Piacenza” project, a network of food farming delicacies from the Piacenza area created to professionally coordinate and promote quality wine tourism in our valleys.