newsletter

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. In December we bottled the third vintage of Eretico (2007): in that year, in fact, we again succeeded in selecting the few bunches of Pinot Nero to dry that warranted this sort of special attention. It is a wine that once again reveals an “anarchic” and alternative character. Another new release is the Sole di Dario 2005. We should like to remind you that this wine also is not easy to make every year: now that the 2003 is sold out, we are in fact moving on to the 2005, seeing that we decided not to produce the 2004. Slight modifications in the grape blend and certain changes in vinification have added freshness and elegance to the great complexity it already possessed. The Nepomuceno 2005, though faithful to its usual style, will have some new characteristics: no vintage will be shown on the label and its denomination will change, from I.G.T. Merlot to I.G.T. Rosso. We in fact added Rebo and especially Marzemino at the vinification stage to gain even greater personality and finesse in a wine that was already rich in structure and ageing potential. Another important new venture is Giovanni Arcari’s project, “TERRAUOMOCIELO”. This aims to make a small contribution towards safeguarding a heritage of inestimable worth such as that of viticulture, in the face of a market that is ever more orientated towards standardization and is increasingly less careful about discovering the real values that only an artisanal product can offer. We have therefore decided to be a part of Giovanni’s important project, in which we believe wholeheartedly. Cristina and Diego