Azienda Agricola Durin

Durin is a family winery in Ortovero, in Liguria's Arroscia Valley. Antonio Basso farms about 25 football pitches of terraced vines above the Riviera Ligure di Ponente. This is the home of saline Pigato that ages well. It also makes Bàsura, a sparkling line that finishes its ageing inside the prehistoric Toirano Caves. Three generations of the family work slopes that climb from 70 to 600 metres. They bottle Pigato, Vermentino, Rossese, Granaccia, Ormeasco di Pornassio and Lumassina without an outside winemaker.

Book a visit 2 experiences · from €30
A person silhouetted in the mouth of a stone tunnel at Durin

Wines from Azienda Agricola Durin

Azienda Agricola Durin A Matetta

Azienda Agricola Durin A Matetta

Appellation TBD

1 retailer

£23.00

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Azienda Agricola Durin Bàsura Obscura

Azienda Agricola Durin Bàsura Obscura

Appellation TBD

1 retailer

£31.00

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Azienda Agricola Durin Basura Rosa

Azienda Agricola Durin Basura Rosa

Appellation TBD

1 retailer

£32.00

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About Azienda Agricola Durin

Durin sits in Ortovero, a small village on the inland slopes of the Riviera Ligure di Ponente. Antonio Basso founded the estate in 1978. He left medical school in his twenties to take over the vines his father Angelo had planted from the 1920s. The farming line goes back further, to his grandfather Isidoro. The name Durin honours that grandfather. Antonio still makes the wine without an outside winemaker, guided by inherited knowledge and four decades of his own trials.

The vines lie between 70 and 600 metres above the sea. They sit on terraces cut into steep slopes, held up by drystone walls the family repairs by hand. Most plots can only be reached by 4x4 or tracked tractor. This is heroic farming in the literal sense of the phrase. Pigato leads, but the cellar also bottles Vermentino, Rossese, Ormeasco di Pornassio, Granaccia, Alicante, Lumassina, Mataosso and a small plot of Syrah. All of it is shaped by the salty sea breeze that pushes up the Arroscia valley.

The whites are the heart of Durin. Pigato from single named plots, such as I S-Cianchi, Gèva and Braie, ages for several years. With time it takes on the herbal, saline edge that locals expect from Pigato grown here. The reds stay Ligurian: Rossese, Granaccia and Ormeasco di Pornassio. Ormeasco also makes a passito and a rosé called Sciac-Trà.

The Bàsura sparkling wines are the estate's most distinctive project. They are made by the classic method, and the range includes a Pas Dosé. The bottles finish their lees ageing inside the Toirano Caves, a prehistoric Neanderthal site a short drive south.

The Bassos call themselves custodians of a fragile land, and they farm like it. The winery runs on renewable energy. Rainwater is collected and fed into drip lines when the vines need emergency water. The family follows the growth of every vine through the season. Goats, donkeys, chickens, ducks and geese live on site, giving manure, eggs and dairy. The estate also presses unfiltered extra virgin olive oil and distils Pigato and Vermentino grappa from its own pressed skins.

Visits run by appointment between 20 April and 31 October. Antonio's wife Laura leads small groups through the cellar. The tasting pairs two whites and two reds with homemade cured meats and cheeses. A Vintage option steps back into older releases of the same wines. The cellar is wheelchair accessible, and children and pets are welcome at the table.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · LIGURIA

Azienda Agricola Durin on the Liguria wine atlas

Anchored in Riviera Ligure di Ponente, the editorial heart of Liguria.

Via Roma, 202, 17037 Ortovero, Savona (Liguria)
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Visit & Experiences

2 bookable experiences at Azienda Agricola Durin

2 tastings, checked by our editors. From €30.

Basic Wine Experience at Azienda Agricola Durin Tasting & Tour

Basic Wine Experience

1 hour 30 minutes From €30 per person

Cellar visit and seated tasting of two still whites and two still reds, served with a board of homemade and local cured meats and cheeses. Small groups only, by appointment. Cellar wheelchair-accessible. Children and pets welcome at the table.

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on durin.it

Vintage Wine Experience at Azienda Agricola Durin Tasting & Tour

Vintage Wine Experience

1 hour 30 minutes From €40 per person

Cellar visit and seated tasting that swaps two of the wines for older vintages, with one white and one red poured at each course alongside the current-vintage pair. Small groups only, by appointment. Same access and minimum-party rules as the Basic experience.

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Not seeing the estate you want? Estates without an online listing are reachable directly, and their phone and email are in Plan your visit.

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durin.it/
Via Roma, 202, 17037 Ortovero, Savona (Liguria)
+39 0182547007
[email protected]

Common questions

  • Durin is in Ortovero, a small village in the Arroscia Valley in western Liguria. It is about 25 kilometres inland from Albenga, in the province of Savona. The address is Via Roma 202, 17037 Ortovero (SV). This is the heartland of Riviera Ligure di Ponente Pigato.
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