Vendemmia 2003

Italian | German


	The Green Harvest just started!
	Square Barriques
	The New Cellars
	100 Magnums for Médécins sans Frontières


	The Company
	The Wine
	The Gastronomy
	The Territory
	Sales net
	Winews
	The winestore

News

Square Barriques

A leading Italian winery includes the words “Save a tree” on its labels, indicating that no trees, especially centuries-old oaks, are sacrificed to age their wines: I am just sorry that this noble concept is written in English, as if we Italians cared nothing for respecting nature.
When men stopped living in caves they used wood to build their houses (and still do so today), make boats, contain liquids and for tools and utensils of all kinds. Nevertheless the more sensitive members of humanity feel partly responsible for the devastation of the forests that have made human survival possible on this planet.
This raises an important question for wine producers, who age their wines in centuries-old oak from Transylvania, the Massif Central or the American Mid-West. It pains me that once the tannins are used up we are unable to re-use this beautiful wood, which is all too often left to “rot” at the back of the cellar.
When it was suggested that I use square barriques, I refused scornfully; but another visit to the back of the cellars, and the chance to re-use the wood (un-curved and still young) for constructions or other purposes, made me eat my hasty words.
The square “monsters” arrived and are now filled with the precious fruit of the 2003 harvest, the gift of our new Le Spiaggiole vineyards. At the same time we filled Slavonian and French demi-tonneaux with the same wine: the cuvée francaise made from Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Mouvèdre, Grenache Bouchée and – in order not to seem unpatriotic – our own Primitivo, greatly ennobled with the name Zinfandel.
Every two months we will take samples for a tasting test (blind of course), and a wider-reaching lab test. The first will be held in late April, and then continue regularly after bottling for at least another year.
We will publish the results of these tests on our website, and invite those interested to take part in the tastings in the wine store on Saturday 26th June, Saturday 28th August and Saturday 30th October.
Environmentally correct? Yes, thank you.