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Cantrina Ventennale

Cantrina, a 20-year-old taste

posted on 13 June 2019
After numerous seasons marked by a warm spring that was so early that it brought budbreak significantly forward, we are finally seeing a textbook spring. In fact, after a particularly dry, not very cold winter, April ushered in a long, cool, rainy period that considerably slowed down vine growth, so much so that flowering occurred some two weeks later than the previous season. Overall, the outlook is positive, though, and predictions at this point, if there are no surprises!, are for a harvest kickoff no earlier than the first days of September, even for the early-ripening varieties.Of course, the high humidity of the past months and the frequent rains have presented an additional challenge for growers like ourselves, since we farm organically, but the expertise that we have built up over the five years that we have followed this philosophy have enabled us to manage the vineyards in the best possible fashion. We will shortly be finishing our green pruning (selecting the most promising buds, thinning and tying up the shoots, leaf-pulling), and next month we will, if necessary, reduce the number of clusters for optimal development of the remaining ones.With regard to the wines, we are just about to bottle Riné 2018, Zerdì 2017, and Groppello 2018, all of them certified organic.
20th milestone:
On 13 May, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our winery with a vertical tasting showcasing the three wines that, from our founding to the present, have become iconic. We selected the vintages of each that are most representative of the evolution of the blends, production methods, and ageing.
The years tasted are:

- Riné (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2017)
- Nepomuceno (1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015)
- Sole di Dario (1999, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2012)

It was truly exciting to re-taste the 1999 wines. We knew, of course, that we were producing age-worthy wines, but we didn’t know that that could be so surprising—so crisp, complex, and intriguing, as only a well-matured wine can be….
Have a look to our gallery 20th milestone.

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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