Drink less, but drink better

Choosing wines from small producers who cultivate their vineyards using organic methods.

In an age where attention to health and “well-being” is becoming increasingly important, many people are looking for ways to reduce their alcohol consumption without giving up the pleasure of sharing a bottle of wine at the table.

Opting for wines made from organic grapes grown by small producers can be an excellent way to balance the pleasure of tasting with a healthier choice of drinks.

Today's consumer is increasingly interested in information and a careful and in-depth wine culture is being formed.

We therefore think that you might be interested in knowing how the work of us small producers differs from that of large companies that have to produce millions of bottles very often at very low prices.

The choice of organic

Unable to count on a large production, the small winemaker must concentrate above all on quality, which is often achieved at the expense of quantity and with higher costs that will be reflected in the final price of the bottle.

Organic farming eliminates the use of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers by limiting treatments to non-systemic ones (those that do not circulate in the plant and fruit) but only "covering" ones such as copper or sulfur. This implies that such treatments must be repeated more often than the more "powerful" chemical ones, with a relative increase in costs.

A recent journalistic investigation has described some procedures used in oenology, especially by large industrial producers, with the aim of keeping production costs low and therefore being able to display bottles on the shelves at particularly competitive prices.

However, we believe it is important to reassure wine enthusiasts who may have doubts about the safety of the contents of their glass: many of these practices are permitted by law and are in no way harmful to health.

However, it is equally important that the consumer understands that all the work that goes into making a quality artisan product has a cost that will be reflected in the final price and vice versa that if a product has a very low price it cannot always guarantee quality.

The following winemaking practices were analyzed in the journalistic investigation in question:

Rectified concentrated must, wine clarification, yeasts, wood chips.

We believe that each of these topics deserves further study and we would like to tell you in detail our point of view on the matter and our choices in the various stages of winemaking.

Let's start today by talking about:

Rectified concentrated must

It is an odorless and colorless liquid particularly rich in sugars, used to enrich musts and help them reach the desired alcohol content.

Concentrated must, as the word itself says, comes from the concentration of grape must, generally coming from areas of southern Italy where the climate causes the sugar concentration to be naturally high. It is used in unfavorable years, for example very rainy ones, in which the sugars of the grapes are more diluted.

This practice is strictly regulated and controlled by the Italian State and from 2024 it will have to be declared on the label, while Italy, unlike other countries, prohibits the enrichment of musts with sugar.

Companies like ours limit the number and weight of bunches per plant, for example by adopting certain forms of cultivation and pruning, or by thinning out excess bunches before they ripen. Generally, therefore, these companies do not need to resort to this type of product since the grapes reach full ripeness and with a potential alcohol content of between 13 and 14 degrees alcohol.

Obviously, in this way the grape production will be lower… and the working hours in the vineyard will be higher with a consequent increase in production costs!

Wood Chips

Some companies introduce wood chips into the vats which, in a couple of weeks, give the wine aromas similar to barrel aging, with great savings, both in terms of money and time and space.

Our choice, instead, is to refine the wine for months or years in first or second passage French oak barriques and tonneaux, whose staves allow for a slow and imperceptible exchange of oxygen and where the aromas of the wood and its toasting blend with those of the wine, thus creating a total balance between all these elements.

To manage this type of refinement, you need a suitable place with controlled temperature and humidity, barrels that are cyclically renewed and a certain amount of time for the wine to remain in contact with the wood, which therefore implies an immobilization of capital and therefore a cost.

The final result cannot but be different both in the short term and, above all, in the long term, when the chips effect, decidedly less long-lasting over time, gets lost in the bottle.

If you are curious to know our ways of dealing with the other winemaking practices we mentioned, keep following us!