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vendemmia 2019

Let’s talk about…Vinitaly 2009

posted on 20 March 2009
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

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.

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…

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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