This estate is home to the first rice fields in Switzerland. There is plenty more to discover besides, including a wine shop and farm. Tours available for groups of 10 or more.
The Terreni alla Maggia SA farm in Ascona is full of surprises. Fruit, corn for polenta, durum wheat for pasta and, of course, wine and spirits have been selling like hot cakes for years. The company, which was founded in 1930, has also made a name for itself with its exclusive products in recent years.
It is the first farm in Switzerland to grow rice, for example. The crop has been cultivated here on the tongue of land between Ascona and Locarno since 1997. The gravelly, sandy and partly loamy alluvial soil of the Maggia provide ideal conditions for this.
As a rice variety, Loto has the best properties for commercial cultivation in the paddy fields. Loto rice, which is great for risotto, is supplied to top restaurant chefs, among others. The links between the agricultural business and the luxury hotel industry has a long tradition – after all Terreni alla Maggia SA and the 5-star Hotel Castello del Sole are part of the same company.
The first whisky made in Ticino
Terreni alla Maggia SA is particularly proud not only of its own rice, but also of the first whisky to be produced in the canton of Ticino. The Ascona whisky’s base ingredient is barley malt, which is also grown on the Maggia Delta.
The distilled liquor is then allowed to mature for three years in oak barrels in a 17th century vaulted cellar. The result? a refined sweet-tasting and at the same time full-bodied single malt.
Try it for yourself at tastings, which are offered regularly by Terreni alla Maggia SA. In addition, all products are available every day in the farm shop at Via Muraccio 111.
Guided tour
Tour the fields, production facilities and wine cellars, before rounding off the visit by sampling the various wines.
