beginning
Ballabio company was founded in 1905 by a man, Angelo Ballabio, and his dream: to create his own classic sparkling wine, with fermentation in the bottle, of Pinot Noir grapes only, capable of comparing itself with the best Champagnes of the time.
Talking about the founder today is remembering a rare man, known and loved as one of the pillars of Oltrepadana sparkling wine. An eclectic self-taught figure of wine, he wanted to mold something of everything about him, with connotations such as to emerge, however, from the anonymous mass of small local production still lacking that commodity identity that the consumer strictly demands.
Partership
As evidence of this, in 1907 the SVIC (Italian Wine Society of Casteggio) was born. Standard-bearer in the world of ingenuity and professional ability of the Italian wine sector. The direction is entrusted to Pietro Riccadonna, who will be joined by Angelo Ballabio.
This partnership bears the hoped-for results: in 1910 they obtained the diploma with a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels held under the high patronage of the King of Belgium, and in a short time their product would also cross the ocean: in 1912 the cartel advertising “Gran Spumante SVIC” is prominently placed next to the Statue of Liberty in New York. A sweet dream for all the Oltrepò.
With the advent of the First World War, SVIC closed its doors and the two young entrepreneurs split up: Angelo Ballabio in Casteggio and Pietro Riccadonna in nearby Piedmont.
Success
Subsequently, Angelo’s experience, united with the contribution of new modern technical knowledge from his son Giovanni, who in the meantime had graduated from the Umberto I school of Viticulture and Oenology in Alba, will be the launch pad of the company.
The fame of the dry sparkling wine champenoise method of Ballabio grew to such an extent that in 1931 Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta, who appreciated the Angelo Ballabio bubbles, appointed him Superintendent of the Real Casa with authorization to wear the ducal insignia . The certificate represents the flagship among the countless honors that the Ballabio family were collecting in the production field.
Evolution
Angelo was succeeded by his son Giovanni who until his death (1975) remained, for the territory, the “medical doctor” of wine, but above all the founder of the first Voluntary Consortium for the Protection of Typical and Precious Wines Oltrepò Pavese.
Having no children, however, Giovanni sought a successor to whom he could entrust his dream and, among the many suitors, he chose a group of entrepreneurs from the area; among these it was the Nevelli family and the Mariotti family who acquired the Ballabio legacy.
Today
Today the company is led by Filippo, Mattia, Alfio and Nicolò Nevelli, brothers and cousins united by passion and entrepreneurial spirit, but above all by a single principle: the continuous pursuit of excellence.
In recent years, the winery has been transformed into one of the most avant-garde realities in the area, the first to specialize in the production of only the Classic Method of Pinot Noir grapes, expressing and enhancing the natural characteristics of the terroir.
In recent years, the winery has been transformed into one of the most avant-garde realities in the area, the first to specialize in the production of only the Classic Method of Pinot Noir grapes, expressing and enhancing the natural characteristics of the terroir.
