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Summer 2017 – Waiting for the harvest

posted on 7 August 2017
Well, we are almost there… After a very challenging season that spared us absolutely nothing, in terms of strange weather, we are just about to harvest the earliest-ripening grapes. Following a dry, but finally cold winter, an early, warm spring exploded on us in March, only to be abruptly interrupted on April 19 by a freeze that cost us about 30% of our crop… The season then continued, but without much rainfall, but with periods on increasing heat, particularly from June on. These were fortunately punctuated by a few rainstorms, which somewhat alleviated the drought that largely characterised this growing season. The Africa-like heat that has marked recent days is surely stressing a certain section of our vineyard, where the soils are lean and drier. All of this definitely portends a harvest that will be a couple of weeks earlier than last year, and a lower crop. So we will definitely need—as, on the other hand, we always do—to carefully calibrate our picking in order to be able to express this season in the most favourable manner possible, and to maintain the style that has always characterised Cantrina’s wines—sound, healthy fruit, cleanness, crispness, and vibrancy. Right after the mid-August holidays, then, the dance will begin, starting as usual with Pinot Noir for Rosanoire, then the white grapes, then step by step, Merlot, Groppello, and Rebo…Finally, to those who have already vacationed and to those who have yet to do so, we wish a fine summer, and to us Good luck for the harvest that is awaiting us just around the corner. 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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