According to evidence dating back as far as the twelfth century, the tiny hermitage of Santa Seraffa, perched on the pass dividing the Scrivia Valley from the Gavi area, was a a pilgrim destination, located on an ancient trail leading to the Scrivia Valley. In 1228, it provided hospitality to the Milanese ambassadors and delegates from Genoa and Tortona at the end of the war for the possession of Arquata and Capriata. Even then, the Cistercian monks used to lovingly cultivate the vines, thus contributing to the high reputation of this region’s wine. The prince of the varietals was – and still is – the cortese grape, used to produce Gavi, one of Piedmont’s great white wines. The place name of Santa Seraffa lives on in the eponymous estate, possibly built on the ruins of the ancient monastery which, in the second half of the XVII century, was indicated as a «church and farm». After years of private management, Santa Seraffa joined the Araldica Group in 2017. Today, 18 hectares are planted with vines, all within the Municipality of Gavi, amounting to a production of around 125,000 bottles of Gavi DOCG del Comune di Gavi alone.
For centuries, the cultivation of cortese grapes for the production of Gavi has reached peaks of excellence, thanks to a very special terroir which enhances the elegance and freshness of this wine.
Once an ancient pilgrimage site, Santa Seraffa is a wonderful estate of eighteen hectares perched on the pass dividing the Scrivia valley from the Gavi area, from where it looks down over the surrounding hills.
