Wine and art trails at La Raia

Between Gavi and Novi Ligure, in lower Piedmont, there are 180 hectares, 50 of which are planted with Cortese and Barbera grapes, 60 of which are cultivated and the remainder occupied by two lakes, chestnut woods, orchards, and meadows reserved for Fassona cows that graze freely. Immersed in this ecosystem, it is not difficult to come across hares, roe deer, lots of birds and, on summer evenings, many fireflies. This is La Raia, a biodynamic farm that, around wine, its production and its culture, has developed a project that ranges from hospitality (Locanda and Borgo) to wellness and art. The estate, which has been run by the Rossi Cairo family since 2002, is still a project in progress, which has at its centre a reflection on the theme of the landscape, understood in all its peculiar components: geographical, social, productive, agricultural, aesthetic and cultural, and on how to maintain them in harmony. In order to get to know and experience La Raia, one can follow three itineraries: the wine itinerary, which starts from the ancient Madonnina vineyard to delve into the principles of biodynamic cultivation and culminates in the wine cellar with the tasting of biodynamic wines; the art itinerary, since 2013, with the birth of Fondazione La Raia - arte cultura territorio, the aim has been to investigate the landscape of La Raia through contemporary art, inviting international artists, photographers, architects and landscape architects to cast a critical and new gaze on this territory. Thus the estate contains permanent works by artists such as Remo Salvadori, Adrien Missika, Michael Beutler and Tami Izko. Finally, there is the biodiversity trail that leads through the rows of vines to the two lakes. You only have to look out of any Locanda window to realise how varied and heterogeneous the landscape is. A natural richness that makes bees and pollinating insects happy, to which one of the Fondazione La Raia's works is dedicated: Adrien Missika's Palace of Bees.