Above: Leading Italian enologist and consultant Leonardo Valenti visited the Barone Pizzini winery today where he tasted base wines for the 2013 Franciacorta Brut. Notes on the 2011 Franciacorta Brut Parcelization and balance in our work in the vineyards and in the cellar are the two pillars of our technical approach since the 2011 harvest. The thing … Read more
Our new Pievalta profile series continues… Biodynamic Viticulture “Balance and beauty, harmony and dynamism, luminosity and warmth. These are adjectives that can be used to describe the Marches (Marche) countryside. But they can also be used to describe the Marches’ favorite son, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. After being bewitched by the ancient rapport between … Read more
On Friday, we sampled the grapes for a third time and decided that the moment had arrived to begin picking. This morning at 6:00 a.m. (Tuesday, September 3, 2013), we assembled the whole team (Alessandro, Gianlcua, Mitico, and Roberto) and began picking in the “Veranda” vineyard. These grapes will be vinified as the base … Read more
In the image above, you can see how the Verdicchio berries are completing their growth. In a few weeks, the warm summer weather will prompt veraison (the onset of ripening) in a few weeks. Some bunches show signs of millerandage, in other words, variation in berry size. This is due to a cold and … Read more
Above: The logo of the Vini di Vignaioli (Grape Grower Wines) fair gets straight to the point. Human + Grape Bunch = Wine. Week before last, the Pievalta winery poured its wines at the Vini di Vignaioli fair held outside of Parma. Vini di Vignaioli means “grape grower wines” and the concept behind the event … Read more
Above: Pievalta grape growers and winemakers, husband and wife, Alessandro Fenino and Silvia Loschi (image via WineStories.it). Pievalta: Biodynamic Pioneers in the Heart of Marches Wine Country “Biodynamic viticulture” denotes bringing life into the vineyards by helping the vines to re-activate the forces that allow them to interact with the sky and earth. At Pievalta, … Read more
A note from Barone Pizzini manager and Franciacorta Consortium vice president Silvano Brescianini: This year, in terms of the number of grape bunches and their average weight, yields won’t be high due to the sharp drop in nighttime temperatures during the delicate phase of flowering. For the 2,800 hectares authorized for the production of Franciacorta, … Read more