Vineyards
Today our vineyards total almost 15 hectares (37 acres), around a third of which (in Val d’Alpone and Soave) are planted in basalt-based soil; this is where we grow the Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave grapes.
These vineyards enjoy a favourable climate with plenty of exposure to sunlight, a vital condition for accumulating enough sugars inside the grapes to make an impeccable Soave or Recioto di Soave. As far as red-wine grapes are concerned, we grow: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Corvina and Rondinella in the renowned area of Arcole (awarded ‘controlled denomination of origin’ – D.O.C. – standing), near San Bonifacio.
The soil in this rather flat area is sandier, a characteristic that allows the vines to totally absorb the nutrients in the soil. The remaining area is located in the Lessinia mountains, in the townland of San Giovanni Ilarione, where we grow the Durella grapes used for Durello wine. The soil in this hilly area is volcanic in origin and based on basalt, and it enjoys a temperate climate.
The training system we use follows local traditions: we use the pergola veronese method in the vast majority of our vineyards in order to maintain our strong bond with traditional farming methods.
The remaining vines are trained using the guyot system, which is steadily ‘gaining ground’ in our vineyards as its structure allows the grapes to receive more sunlight. The average age of the vineyards is between 35-40 years old, but generally in every field we have vines of all ages as every year there is a certain amount of replanting.
This may seem unimportant, but this act, together with other agricultural practices such as pruning, thinning and cluster selection, has a positive effect on the qualitative potential of the vines.
To ensure that we pick the grapes when they are healthy and at the optimum level of ripeness, we perform technical analyses and monitoring – practices that have become absolutely fundamental in our work.