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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… We are just in the process of releasing our 2005 Nepomuceno, but we won’t be entering it in the National Italian Merlot Competition this year. In the last three years it has always come out as one of the best wines in its category, but the choices we have now made have given us a 2005 Nepomuceno I.G.T. red that is entirely in line with our philosophy of production, i.e. a blend of wines made up partly from Merlot, but also from Marzemino and Rebo. Another new release is the Rinè 2007, in which we have included – as you may remember – a small proportion of the Incrocio Manzoni variety. Libero Esercizio di Stile is our new label: it represents the utmost point of our production in terms of creativity and experimentation. We have made a short video about Cantrina that explains the estate’s production philosophy: if you’d like to go and have a look at it and make some comments, please go to our site. We’d like to know what you think of it. Lastly, for our German-speaking friends and clients, we have introduced information sheets in PDF in their language.

Last news 2009

posted on 11 December 2009
During the harvest, Ivan, a dear friend of ours and a keen photographer, came to visit us: he is extremely good at capturing original situations and he is often kind enough to give us some of his splendid snapshots. Well, this year he really amazed us with his tiny but extremely efficient camera: using the video recording function, he turned himself into a film director, shooting harvest scenes with rare spontaneity. We still start to smile when we think of Ivan racing up and down between the vines on Gianni (our trusty vineyard worker)‘s bicycle as he filmed each scene, each person and each detail like an enthusiastic child, eager to complete a jigsaw puzzle of the vintage at Cantrina. The video only lasts 8 minutes, so we urge you to take a short break and watch this really unmissable clip.

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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