Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Piedmont
Gavi, Piemonte’s most important white wine, originates in the hills of Tassarolo. A green and picturesque landscape surrounds the Cascina degli Ulivi. Here the vines bind the essences, the energy of a deep soil and of the environment, to give life to nature’s splendor. Wine is the harmonious result of these energies.Cascina degli Ulivi has been a family property for thirty years. The estate is currently run by Stefano and Zita Bellotti, who cultivate with passion the fifteen hectares of vines according to the standards of biodynamic agriculture, aiming at maintaining and stimulating the soil’s natural fertility. “…we consider the soil a fellow organism of everything living. By cultivating the vines we encourage the harmony of all forces that are part of the vital flux.”Their wines: the Gavi, grown in three vineyards, is the main wine. A second white wine, the “Demua” is a blend of different cultivars present already in the 1930’s. The important and traditional reds of Piemonte are Monferrato Dolcetto “Nibio” and Barbera of Piemonte “Mounbe” completing the selection.One may also enjoy the hospitality of Bellotti’s Guest Farm, with accommodation in one of its four spacious rooms and the delicious dishes prepared by Zita.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
Fattoria Castellina is a farm situated on the hills of Tuscany between Florence and Vinci, with 110 hectares of land, including 10 hectares of vineyard and 30 hectares of olive grove. The remaining is woods that surround the property.In our red wines we endeavor to express our terroir of Chianti Montalbano to its full potential by practicing organic farming and paying close attention to our beautiful landscape, vegetation and animal life. Since 1996, we have been gradually renovating the vines, and in 2000, we restored an old terraced vineyard that was left uncultivated for 20 years. There we have replanted Sangiovese with an “alberello” (small tree) training system and “settonce” planting scheme, widespread in ancient Greece. High plant density (8,300 plants/ha) means that work is done entirely by hand with animaltowed tools. Plants are exposed to the sun throughout the day, allowing the fruit to reach optimal ripeness. Yields are also kept low, maximizing extractive richness.Since 2004 we have been practicing biodynamic agriculture. This path is very gratifying in terms of results on grapes and wine; but more than anything, it has given a new and authentic significance to the work we are doing as well as a sustainable future to agriculture.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
In 1979, we discovered the Casina di Cornia but already in 1100, a chapel dedicated to St. Romolo is mentioned at Cornia in the parish of St Leonino, a sign that several families of sharecroppers were already active in the area. The farm covers a total area of 24 hectares, 7 of which are vineyards, lying on the Southwestern slope of the Chianti hills between Florence and Siena. Ever since we started in 1980, we did cultivate according to organic agriculture and we have been “Bio” certified since 1983. Since 1996, after careful study, we have managed to totally eliminate copper as an anti-parasite; we use sulphur against oidium and a blend of clay, vegetable extracts and powdered rock against peronospora. To obtain wines that bring out all the body and quality of the grapes, we interfere with the grapes and the wine as little as possible. Work starts with ruthless pruning in order to limit production to between 35 and 45 hectolitres per hectare. In our quest for quality, we attempt to highlight the effects of seasonal variations in the characteristics of the grapes and valorize these differences every year. Depending on the quality of the grapes, we follow a strict selection strategy to produce different wines: Rosso Toscano, a light “everyday” wine -70% Sangiovese 20% Canaiolo and 10% Trebbiano and Malvasia; Chianti Classico, the more important wine, well structured- 100% Sangiovese; Chianti Classico “Vigna lòa Casina” Riserva, a choice of the best grapes, not produced every year- also 100% Sangiovese; and L’Amaranto, the “Supertuscan”- 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Sangiovese.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
Azienda Agricola San Giuseppe Stella di Campalto was established 1992 in a valley that had not been farmed since 1920. It is located in Castelnuovo dell’Abate (Montalcino) nearby the renowed Romanesque church of Sant Antimo. On this stretch of land there was nothing but a house, some olive trees that had be planted back in the 1920s and fallow field. In 1999 we planted a four hectare vineyard and waited four years for its first growth. We now have a six hectare vineyard and are determinated to keep it down to this size.We have been certifiedas organic growers since 1996. We only operate on vines manually and treat each single tree according to its specific needs. Since 2002 we have begun to turn our attention to biodynamic methods. Both dynamization and distribution of our preparations are hand-made.We have a tree-level cellar dropping system. Our grapes, divided up according exposure, soil and species, are separately vintaged in 30q wooden tuns. Ageing takes place underground in barricoes, tonneaux and 15q barrels. Bottling is also made manually by dropping. No other substances are added to our wines, except for SO2.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
Casavecchia alla Piazza di Gabriele Buondonno and Valeria Sodano is located in Chianti Classico valley between Florence and Siena, in the town of Castellina in Chianti. It is a little farm of 20 hectares: 8 ha vineyard, 4 ha oliveyard, the rest wood and pasture land.We started in 1989, coming from Naples, after our studies at the Agricultural University.Since the beginning, we cultivated according to Organic Agriculture and we have been “Bio” certified since 1990.Our aim is to preserve, as much as possible, the natural environment and supply the consumers with high quality wines fully maintaining the various flavours stemming from grapes’ variety, soil’s nature and different vintages. According to these objectives we interfere with the grapes and with the wine as little as possible.Our main product is a typical Chianti Classico d.o.c.g., produced with 90 % of Sangiovese grapes, 10 % between Merlot and Canaiolo grapes, aged for 1 year in oak barrels. In the years when the grape quality is very high, with a Sangiovese choice we produce a Chianti Classico Riserva aged for 2 years in oak barrels of 500 lt. From a little vineyard of Syrah we produce “Campo ai Ciliegi”, a rich full-body Syrah of Tuscany i.g.t. aged for 15 -18 months in barriques.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
Our wine estate is half-way between the towns of Campagnatico and Grosseto, on both sides of a small hill (“poggio”), at an average altitude of about 70m above sea level. 12 hectares of the estate face south, towards the “Trasubbie” river, whilst the remaining 5 hectares face north, towards Campagnatico.SOIL AND VINEYARDSOur vineyards are all around the winery. The soil is mainly of medium texture, where the presence of stones together with the hilly position leads to good terrain structure and drainage. The land presents a balanced percentage of carbonates and is rich in microelements, which are responsible for the typical red color of the land itself. Our management of the soil focuses on reacquiring biological land fertility and balance, through an accurate program of manure seeding.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Udine
Denis Montanar comes from a long line of farmers. His commitment to this line of work began in 1989,when Denis rented out the vineyard owned by his grandfather. Soon after, he bought two additional acres for the beginning of a new vineyard. In 1995,together with his wife Alessia, Denis decided to purchase another ten and half acres, with annexed farm houses. Almost at the same time, Denis developed the idea of registering the mark for his wine calling it:”BORC DODON”, which in the local Friuli dialect was the name of the medieval hamlet where the present Montanar buildings (some of which incorporate building materials dating back to Roman times) are still located. For the past several years, in addition to the vineyards, Denis has set aside some acreage for the cultivation of maize meal. This is completely organic product, produced from ancient strands of maize and stoneground according to tradition. The cultivation of vineyards has been totally organic for the past eight years, while other agricultural products have been grown organically for the past three years. The Montanar family’s bottled wines are: Refosco dal peduncolo rosso, Uis Neris(which in the friulan dialect means “Black Grapes”),Uis Blancis (“White Grapes”),Verduzzo friulano, Tocai friulano and Merlot. Ultimately, the driving concept of the family’s production is both to maintain a traditional way of farming and to propagate the knowledge and appreciation of local culture and traditions.
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Posted
by Adam Morganstern
on Mar 18, 2008
in Tuscany
The Tenuta di Valgiano is situated 250 metres above sea level on a hillside 10 km north-east of the charming city of Lucca in northern Tuscany, and only a short distance from the Tyrrhenian coast. The climate is Mediterranean and the considerable amounts of light foster excellent polyphenolic ripening. The most sensitive agricultural methods, which include biodynamic, are used to cultivate the vines with the aim of producing top-quality grapes that best express the terroir. Traditional methods are used in the cellar and technological interference is kept to a minimum. The objective is to produce, in the simplest possible way, wines that are an expression of the place in which they are cultivated: Valgiano!
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