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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

Harvest in Cantrina

posted on 8 October 2009
Here we are almost at the end of the harvest (we still have to pick just a tiny part of our grapes and press those that we have set aside for drying) and so, strange as it may seem, it’s time to take stock of the overall situation once again. It was a precocious harvest for the early-ripening grapes (Pinot Nero, Chardonnay and Sauvignon), due to early flowering in the spring and very favourable weather during the summer. The picking time for Merlot, Rebo and Marzemino was more in line with the norm, thanks to a fine September with cool nights and rain-free days. The health of the grapes and the first analyses of the new wines allow us to rate 2009 as a good year. Only time will tell us whether it will be an excellent vintage: yes, time, which is much more truthful than all those exaggerated proclamations we tend to be bombarded with each year as the harvest approaches…

Let’s talk about…Vinitaly 2009

posted on 20 March 2009
vendemmia 2019
Here we are getting ready for Vinitaly 2009, even if it seems to us less and less like a fair that is appropriate for small producers like ourselves: amid all the hustle and bustle of this great event it is difficult to explain to people about our “open-minded exercice de style”. This year, therefore, we are concentrating on alternative methods of getting together with our friends (let’s hear from you!). However, if you are at Vinitaly on 2nd and 3rd April you can find us in the Lombardy pavilion in the PalaExpo on stand C7. If you so desire, we will be able to give you more details about our new releases, which we will merely outline below: Groppello, an indigenous grape variety of the Valtènesi, has become a part of Cantina’s range; with the 2008 vintage we have sought to express and interpret the potential of this cultivar in line with our particular philosophy of production. Rinè 2007 will have a new label, which will also reflect a few small changes we have made in the wine itself. Incrocio Manzoni is the new grape variety that gives this wine a stronger identity.

Cantrina from the old to the new year

posted on 20 January 2009
2008 is now just a memory: it gave us cause for concern with its rains in the spring and then cause for satisfaction with a late summer and early autumn that were ideal for ripening the grapes. The harvest then took place in cool, dry weather conditions: this, together with our efforts to keep down yields, allowed us to pick healthy grapes with a good sugar/acid balance. The resulting wines combine concentration with very fresh aromas and flavours, suggesting that they will have excellent ageing potential. 2008 was also a year for reflection. We thought long and hard about the type of wines we produce, constantly asking ourselves the same questions: “Can we express our terroir even without using indigenous grapes?” and “Can we demonstrate that quality and personality are independent of autochthony?”
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