The Scrimaglio family has been present in Piedmont since the 17th century, when they were known by the name of Escrimeaux, from the French escrimeur, meaning swordsman. Their ancestors fled to the Monferrato area from France, following the violent persecution of the Huguenots. They gave their name to the place where they settled, which became Regione Scrimaglio. It was in the hills of Nizza Monferrato that Pietro Scrimaglio established the cellar in 1920, expanding and improving the activities of his father Francesco, a winegrower since the early 1900s.
After the war, grandsons Franco and Mario, and later the founder’s great-grandsons Pier Giorgio and Francesco, consolidated the winery’s link with its terroir, expanding the range of wines and beginning to sell wine on the international markets. In the 1980s, Scrimaglio was one of the wineries that believed strongly in the rebirth of Barbera d’Asti, choosing to vinify it in compliance with a traditional style, taking care to respect the varietal characteristics. At the turn of the new millennium, Scrimaglio decided to promote and develop the Barbera d’Asti subzone, Nizza, which in 2014 was recognised as a designation in its own right under the name Nizza DOCG, making the winery’s dream come true.
Today, winemaker Bruno Cordero works with a passionate team: agronomists, vineyard and cellar workers, and wine technicians, all sharing the goal of conveying the territory’s identity in every bottle. “I have been working in Piedmont for years, with my operations based in Barolo, focusing on the style and territorial consistency of our wines,” he explains. “I have signed and overseen numerous vinifications of the region’s historic grape varieties, from Nebbiolo to Barbera. At Scrimaglio, I strive to maintain the balance between typicity and terroir: carefully selected grapes, controlled yields and calibrated ageing to express identity and finesse.”
For Bruno, what he loves most about making wine is the balance between art and science. “I love following the evolution of each vintage, listening to the vineyard, its responses to climate and soil, and intervening gently so that the fruit reaches the bottle with identity,” he says. “I’m also fascinated by the idea of transforming something that grows under the sky of the Langhe and Monferrato into an emotion for those who taste it.”
Scrimaglio wines stand out for their fidelity to the terroir: only DOC and DOCG wines from native grape varieties such as Barbera, Nebbiolo, Arneis, Cortese and also Timorasso, always seeking an authentic and harmonious expression. “In our winery in Barolo, I pursue contemporary techniques without betraying the traditional style, with controlled yields and calibrated ageing to let the vineyard’s personality shine through,” Bruno explains. Aged red wines like Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera d’Asti Superiore are obtained with long maceration in steel tanks up to two years’ ageing in large wooden barrels. The wines are aged for a long time in the bottle, even longer than the regulatory specifications, so that they can be released onto the market in their most complete expression.
