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Epiphany 2013

posted on 6 January 2013
Yes, here I am again, now that the Befana, the traditional Good Witch of the Epiphany, has landed. She is bearing you, along with Diego, a full load of our warmest wishes for the New Year, and I personally wish that I too could bring you presents, but can you just picture a Befana scattering bottles of wine while trying to fly her broom at the same time?! So it’s better for the moment that the bottles continue to rest in the cellar, and that way they will be here for you when you come–invitation!–to visit us over the course of 2013 to taste them with us. Now, as far as what’s coming up in the near future … …as you already read in the previous newsletter, we have already been grubbing up part of our vineyard, which will quite soon be boasting the Groppello variety. This is a very important decision for us. As many of you know, the winery was conceived to focus mainly on wines made from non-local grape varieties, and so our winemaking was not held to the restrictions of the Valtènesi production codes. But the longer we looked at Groppello, the more we became strongly convinced of its superior qualities as a variety, not just as a market performer. So we are very proud, even if it has come after a full 10 years on, to add groppello to our wine portfolio. Removing part of our already modest vineyard to make way for a local grape is a significant move for us, but it shows our deep faith in groppello, and it will afford us the opportunity in the future of using the new DOC Valtènesi designation. In the meantime, the vineyards allow no leisure: we’ve already begun to prune the canes, tie up the vines, and to perform all of the small operations that go into managing a vineyard. These are the first bricks with which the 2013 vintage will be eventually built…. Just a few more days now and Rosanoire 2012 will be in the bottle, to be released late February-early March, all while our mind is racing ahead to plan for the next wines to be bottled over the course of the year: Groppello 2012, Zerdì 2010, Rinè 2012, Nepomuceno exercise n. 9… As you can see, there’s very little time to just stand around here at Cantrina, but all of our activity has been crowned by a very satisfactory 2012. The harvest was fine, and in spite of unsettled economic conditions our wines have met with brisk demand from our loyal customers and friends, which gives us good reason to look at the future with confidence and hope. Heart-felt best wishes and many, many thanks again to all of you for accompanying us and supporting us all these years. Cristina and Diego

Cantrina in real time

posted on 4 March 2011
I am writing from New York… I try in English (no time, unfortunately to have our dear Michael Benson translating for us). The weather is fine, better than in Italy, chilly temperature but no snow. The city is amazing, as always and each time I’m back it seems to me like being back home. Just an update about the mess I’m doing here, working in New York for the second time this year. Today a benefit event will be held by the Brooklyn based Issue project Room, rapidly becoming the point of reference for contemporary art in the New York area. Cantrina is a proud sponsor and our wines will be the only ones in tasting for the night

The Befana’s* Newsletter

posted on 5 January 2011
*[In Italy the feast of Epiphany is “personified” by la Befana, an imaginary, witch-like crone who brings gifts to good children and (sweet) “coal” to those who have misbehaved]. I always like to be a little bit different, so the Befana’s feast is one I identify with… and that is why I am only now taking the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year, assuming you have survived the massive beanfeasts during the recent holiday period! I just have one or two TEENSY-WEENSY bits of news to tell you about: Cantrina has also gained a foothold in MonteCarlo, for now just with our most extreme wine, the ERETICO 2007… I am increasingly convinced that unique products really do make a difference in the marketplace and so one should always be prepared to TAKE A GAMBLE!

Harvest 2010

posted on 6 November 2010
What can we say about the 2010 harvest, which came at the end of a year that was especially strange and difficult? There was a late spring and a rainy summer that was cool and humid, an early autumn and lots of problems with the health of the vines. 2010 will definitely not be one of the vintages of the century and, as things stand right now, it is very hard to pick out any products of real excellence. However, after the first few days of harvesting, which caused us a great deal of apprehension because of all the care and hard work that we had to put into selecting the grapes, we can now say that we are hoping for a few pleasant surprises from the vats where fermentation is just coming to an end. In short, it took us more time to pick less grapes than usual; also, we didn’t set aside any grapes for drying to make the Sole di Dario and we selected fewer grapes for the Nepomuceno. From our initial tastings, though, we can look forward to wines that may be less fleshy and muscular, but which display great freshness, fine aromas and acidity and which should eventually offer elegance and longevity. The French (who know a thing or two about wine) refer to these as “cellar masters’ vintages”: years in which the skill and sensitivity of the winemaker really can compensate for nature’s lack of generosity. We hope we’ve done a good job!
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