produttori — Balzola · Piemonte
In the Monferrato casalese, where paddy fields trace the landscape in precise geometries all the way to the horizon, Dario Astori grows rice and grain, following his products from sowing through to packaging. A family business that, since 2011, has brought together farming tradition, artisan processing and sustainable choices certified in the field.
Balzola lies at the meeting point of the Monferrato alessandrino, the Vercellese and the Pavese: a plain that centuries of water have made fertile, where paddy fields stretch out in ordered geometries all the way to the horizon. Here, on family land, the farm grows Carnaroli Classico, listed since 2018 in the register of the Ente Nazionale Risi (Italy's national rice authority) as a guarantee of the authentic variety, distinct from the hybrids that borrow only its name.
The farm follows its own products from sowing through to packaging, without delegating the decisive choices in processing to others. The rice is polished by hand at a local riseria (rice mill) in the area; stone milling is entrusted to a mill in the Biellese, which turns the grain into rustic, semi-wholemeal flours, preserving the fibre and nutritional properties that industrial processes often sacrifice.
Since 2016 the farmhouse in Balzola has been open for direct sales: rice, flours and packaged products, along with personalised gift baskets and favours for special occasions. Every package carries the mark of SQNPI certification, a guarantee of eco-sustainable production and zero chemical residue, achieved in 2021 by combining traditional techniques with modern agronomic monitoring technology.
To discover Riso Gemma is to meet a family that chose to stay on its own land and bring it, with care and steady method, straight to the table.
