linea

newsletter

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?” We decided to make a few small changes in the character of the wines, to restyle some of our labels… and to introduce a new product that isautochthonous. But we will tell you more in our next newsletter. 2008 was a year of events, including: Gusto in Scena in March (at the Molino Stucky in Venice), Vinitaly in April, the Munich Wine Festival… Following detailed research carried out by experts in the sector, we have decided to modify our marketing strategy just a little. Convinced that fairs of a certain size are not ideal for small producers like us and that it is not easy to stand out even if one has very original products, we think that it would be better to focus our attention on finding small but competent and passionate clients who “fall in love” with our products. We have decided to take part in Vinitaly all the same, but in a different way; we shall be present on our local Consorzio’s stand for a couple of days, during which we will be able to meet our friends and customers. At this point, seeing that 2009 started just a short while ago, we should just like to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Cristina and Diego

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!

Cantrina at New York

posted on 6 July 2010
Hello there everyone! As in all family-run companies we’ve been very busy, and so some time has passed since our last newsletter… Here, then, is a little news about our activities over the past few months. Having found an importer in the United States, we went to New York for a brief business trip and we are now looking forward to seeing our wines on the lists of some specialist wine stores and/or exclusive restaurants in Manhattan. In our opinion, New York is a city that offers great opportunities and there even particular products like ours can find the right type of market exposure. At a tasting at the Hudson Hotel our products – especially the Nepomuceno and the Rinè - were highly appreciated, and our American friends suggested that we define our wines as “unconventional” because of the character and original style that set them apart.

Let’s meet in Cantrina

posted on 1 April 2010
LIBERO ESERCIZIO DI STILE 2009 We keep on experimenting at Cantrina and in 2009 it was the turn of a tank of Roséobtained from the vinification of 100% Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) grapes. At the moment, fruit and freshness are the main characteristics of this wine. The must was in contact with the skins for about 9 hours, followed by careful vinification and maturation in stainless steel. In our opinion it is a wine that has good potential for development: we’d like to see what it’s like in a year’s time… after all, we’re talking about a rosé made from a well-structured grape like Pinot Nero. By the way, the wine is already on sale.
1 Unfortunately, 12 13 14 15