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The wine-grower’s post-harvest wrap-up

posted on 16 November 2017
Now that the fermentations are nearly finished, it’s time for our usual overview with respect to the 2017 harvest—or perhaps better, the 2017 vintage year. As expected, the extremely hot weather and lack of rainfall—some 60% less than normal– that marked the entire season brought the harvest forward by two full weeks, which meant that on 18 August the first pinot noir clusters for Rosanoire were already in the cellar, and the white grapes came in just one week later. We held our breath and exercised patience, though, with the later-ripening reds, and we were suitably rewarded with fine levels of ripeness. In fact, a couple of heavy rainfalls between the end of August and early September helped heat-stressed vines to recover their balance and to deliver grapes that were ripe, sound, and healthy. On the organic front, the weather throughout the season was of great help in keeping in check fungal and insect attacks, so much so that we had to carry out very few treatments, and those with very low use of sulphur and copper, about a third of what was necessary last year! Actually, the only really sour note of this 2017 season was the freeze on 19 April, which did much damage to the Groppello vineyard in Macesina and to the white-grape vineyards right below the winecellar, significantly reducing the crops there. All the wines, on the other hand, show good quality. This is particularly true for the reds from the last grapes to be brought in; we wouldn’t want to go overboard, but we are really in love with a couple of vats… So, taking everything into consideration, we would say Yes, we can say that this vintage is an excellent one, also because this is the first year that we enjoy official organic certification for nearly all our wines (Groppello-valtènesi in still in the conversion process for another year). GUIDA SLOW WINE 2018 On 14 October we were at the awards ceremony of Guida Slow Wine 2018 to receive our accolade as a producer of outstanding “Everyday Wine,” namely our Valtènesi 2016 (100% groppello). The event concluded with a tasting of all the awarded wines, held in the magnificent spaces of the Terme del Tettuccio in Montecatini Terme. MERCATO DEI VIGNAIOLI, 25-26 November In late November, as usual, we will be at the Mercato dei Vignaioli Indipendenti in the Palaexpo in Piacenza. This marketplace, sponsored by the FIVI (Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers), growing in size and importance every year, makes it possible for wine-lovers to taste wines together with the winegrower and to bring home a bottle or two. Diego and Cristina

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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