June 2021

Werner Stucky and Jürg Hügin | Producer of our wine: Tracce di Sassi

In the early eighties, the oenologist Werner Stucky came to Ticino and laid the foundation for Ticino’s quality viticulture. He was fascinated by the wines from Bordeaux and the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. His del Portico Riserva 1983 was the first Ticino barrique wine par excellence. He helped almost all the newcomers get started and gave them advice and support. He produces wines that come from the gut and not from the head, that are substantial, strong in  character and very long-lived. 

There are some parallels between the original owner of La Rocca and the current landlord Jürg Hügin: In addition to their successful professional careers, Dr Paul Müller as a dentist, Jürg Hügin as an entrepreneur, both wanted to create an area that was close to nature and down-to-earth. Both then went to the viticulture school in Wädenswil to learn the necessary knowledge. Dr Paul Müller moved to La Rocca with his wife in 1942, Jürg Hügin had his first wine harvest in 2010 in the barrel, and both pressed their wine in the wine cellar blasted out of the rock under the house built out of the rock. Dr Paul Müller produced various types of wine until the 1960s: Merlot, white Chasselat, a sparkling wine façon champenoise and a “Grappa Speciale” (distilled from grapes and various types of fruit).

He received various awards during this time, especially for the Merlot. When Dr. Paul Müller and his wife retired from La Rocca after thirty years for reasons of age, the house was used by the family as a holiday home until it passed to Jürg Hügin in 2007, who revived the wine tradition. Visit Website

The vineyards of Tracce di Sassi, Conte di Luna and Temenos are located in a sunny and southern position on the right bank of the Ticino between Sementina and Cugnasco. The soils are light and sandy. The aim is to find the best possible balance of each vine and production quantity. Between 400 and 600 g of grapes are picked per square metre, and the average age of the vines is 30 years.