2012

2011

2010

2012

18 April - After the recent heavy rains, today we are giving the vines a spraying of copper sulphate. Because there has been so much rain, the vineyard has become very muddy and it's not possible to use the tractor. So we have to do this manually, with a pump carried on our backs. This is immensely tiring work, but it is necessary to give the treatment immediately because the forecast is not good for the rest of the month.

In my grandfather's time, such tasks were always carried out manually. So in doing this ourselves in the same manner on this occasion, it's a good reminder of the arduous manual labour that was done in past times by those who preceded us.

26 February - “The wolf has never devoured the winter”
The winter climate of La Langa is usually very cold with plenty of snow. The winter that we are currently experiencing, until the end of January, has resulted in a particularly agreeable climate that has been almost spring-like, on some days with temperatures reaching 20 degrees Centigrade.

The older generation have a saying, “the wolf has never devoured the winter”, and it is usually true that the old sayings are never wrong: winter, even if it comes a little bit later than usual, has arrived, and how!

The temperature plummeted on Sunday, January 29, and it began to snow. In three days, we had more than 50 centimetres of snow, and in the successive days, the snows have continued, a little less heavily, but with the arrival of a Siberian wind that has lowered the temperature down to minus 22 degrees C!

Luckily, we have now returned to our more normal winter climate, with temperatures that go from 2 to 5 degrees C at night and 15 to 16 degrees C by day. I have thus been able to return to the winter pruning, which I had to suspend during the big freeze.

The low temperatures and the snow are two very important factors for the vines and most definitely influence the quality of the grapes for the next vintage. The snow is useful for replenishing the water reserves under the earth, where the rain doesn’t succeed in penetrating because it runs away down the surface; snow, by contrast, melting slowly, allows the water to penetrate more deeply into the sub-soil.

I should confess that this period of snow and cold is good also for me: like my vines, I too am in need of a little rest. Thus, I have passed many days at home, watching the wood burn in the chimney, and passing the hours seated at the table in the company of my family, allied to the typical winter foods of this time of the year, and a good glass of wine or two . . .

15 February - An article in Slow Wine with a description of my Cascina Fontana Langhe Nebbiolo 2009.

18 January - Exeter is a beauiful small city in Devon, South West England. Last December I was invited by wine and food writer and wine importer Marc Millon to take part in an Italian-style ‘Wine and Food of Le Langhe’ evening organised by Andy McLarin in the MC Café Bar of the prestigious hotel ABode Exeter (Michael Caines Restaurants) where the wines of Cascina Fontana are on the list.

It didn’t take me two seconds to accept this invitation from my good friend Marc. The event took place on 18th January and it was magnificent, a very special evening that combined great food, wine and convivial friendship.

For me, it is always very special to visit Devon. When I first came to England, I was just 22 years old. I drove to Exeter with my van loaded with wine to deliver to an Italian restaurateur named Nino Sacco of Quo Vadis. It was a beautiful adventure. I remember that my grandfather Saverio, before my departure, was very worried. He asked me, “Mario, how will you be able to cross the English Channel with the van?”

“Grandfather, there are boats that cross the Channel,” I answered.

“But will you be able to take the van on to the boat?” he asked incredulously.

Since that first visit, I have continued to visit to England almost every year. I have had the great pleasure to meet and to get to know many to whom I now feel connected with the deepest friendship and reciprocal esteem.

I feel very proud to have been a friend of the late Nello Ghezzo, proprietor of Nello’s Ristorante in Topsham. Nello introduced my wines to his clients more than 20 years ago. He was a great ambassador for us, and his customers came to know and love my wines as if they were his own. Even today, when I visit Devon, people remember those good times at Nello’s Ristorante, a very special place and a very special friend.

It’s hard to believe that some 23 years have passed since that first visit.. And so here I was again, in Exeter on a Wednesday afternoon in January, feeling something of the same emotions that I felt since those first early visits: above all, welcome and comfortable in the company of such warm people, friends from Topsham, friends from Exeter and Devon, who have come to know me and to enjoy and appreciate my wines.

Our evening in the MC Café Bar at ABode Exeter was very special, organised in the correct spirit, by those who know and appreciate the value of quality food, wine and the importance of tradition.

During my very short visit - less than 24 hours! - I had to pleasure to visit with Marc another great friend, Geoff Bowen, a wine producer who at Pebblebed Vineyards makes excellent wines from grapes grown just outside of Topsham in the Exe valley. Like us, Geoff had recently moved to a new house and is in the process of creating his new wine cellar. We spoke about the tasks in the vineyard, about our wines and we realised that even though there are many hundreds of kilometres between our respective lands and that we have different traditions and histories, nonetheless we share common principles and values, share the same thoughts, worries, hopes and ambitions.

My visit to Exeter was a beautiful evening amongst friends and an excellent start to the new year. A happy 2012 to all!

12 January - I've been in the vineyards this week as we have now started the winter pruning. The ground is very dry and we are hoping soon that it will snow.

2011 News

14 October - The wine continues to ferment in the cellar, so in order to take advantage of the fine weather after the harvest, we decided to fertilize the vineyards. As is our custom, for this task we only use cow manure that has been aged for two years which arrives to us directly from farms located in our high mountains. This manure makes the best fertilizer. Of course it is much more costly due to the transport costs of bringing it to us from the mountains, but it comes from cows that have been nourished on the grasses of the high pastures, and thus it is entirely clean and pure and natural.

Once it arrives with us, it is taken directly to the vineyards where we spread it manually between the rows of vines. This is tiring work as it must be dug into the ground at least 40cm deep. Forking in the manure not only enriches the soil, it also opens it so that the rains and snows of the coming winter can penetrate deeply into the ground, adding the moisture that will be necessary to nourish the vines in the summer heat to come.

This is our system for fertilising our vineyards, very natural and in keeping with our philosophy to produce wines that are as pure as possible. Such methods mean that we could call our wines organic. I prefer to say that they are “vini della mia coscienza” - wines that my conscience can be happy with.

2nd October - Here the great heat continues with temperatures of more than 30 degrees C. In fact, the records indicate that this has been the hottest September certainly for the past 250 years! Last week, we completed the harvest, most unusual since we are accustomed to finish bringing in the Nebbiolo di Barolo grapes only towards the middle of October or sometimes even later. This year, in only the first days of October, all the grapes have already been harvested, pressed, and are in the vats in the cantina, some already transformed into wine. The Dolcetto has already been racked once, and we’ll start to rack the Barbera next week.

We harvested the Nebbiolo grapes from the vineyards of ‘Del Castello’ and ‘Pozzo’ last Thursday and they are now fermenting. The bunches were healthy and ripe with a sugar level that should reach 14% alcohol. The colour looks good too.

The Nebbiolo grapes for Barolo from the Valletti vineyard were harvested this Monday and Tuesday, while those from Villero and Gallinotto were harvested a fortnight earlier. The grapes were in excellent condition, fully mature but not yet beginning to shrivel or raisin (which can happen in times of excessive heat - we were fortunate that it rained on 17 and 18 September to refresh the vines). The sugar levels are excellent.

Now we are following the fermentation. I pump the fermenting grape must back over the skins two times a day, and rack the wines that have completed their primary fermentation. I am discovering day by day the benefits of all the hard work carried out in the vineyards this year, the decisions I made and the fortune that Nature brings. This is a special moment of the year for me: I am able to live in peace with myself, content that I have done my very best. It’s as if now I am helping to give birth to this year’s new wines that are themselves the fruit of the unique circumstances of the annual vintage and of the hard work in the vineyard, not the result of modern technologies or sophistry carried out in the cellar.

18 September - Yesterday we finished the harvest of Barbera grapes. I am very satisfied for both the quality as well as the quantity. The level of sugar is high which means that this year’s Barbera will reach between 14 and 14.5 percent alcohol, with both excellent acidity as well as colour.

Because of the elevated temperatures this past month, the maturation of the Nebbiolo grapes has proceded much more quickly than normal. In fact, last week we already harvested grapes from the vineyards of Villero and Gallinotto, two of the three ‘cru’ vineyards that I use for the production of Cascina Fontana Barolo. I made the decision to bring the grapes in early because I wanted to minimize the risk of them become over-mature. In fact, already on these two vineyards, the bunches were just beginning to ‘appassire’ – that is, the grapes were drying out and becoming slightly raisined – this would have been detrimental with both loss of colour and acidity. The remaining vineyards of Nebbiolo for Langhe Nebbiolo as well as Barolo will be harvested within about 8 to 10 days. These grapes are not yet showing signs of stress from heat and the bunches are looking good and healthy, therefore it is worthwhile to wait a little longer.

10 September - I have just returned from London where I participated in “The Grand Tour” oganised by Berry Bros & Rudd. The event introduced the wines of 30 Italian producers, all selected from different regions by David Berry Green.

I started working in the vineyards and cantina with my grandfather when I was just a boy. My life has been dedicated to respecting the traditions of my land and to express our territory of Le Langhe through my wines, wines that are above all pure and honest and which reflect beauty, elegance and finesse, never forgetting that we winegrowers are children of sacrifice, effort, injustice.

I cannot express the honour I now feel to be recognised by Berry Bros & Rudd as part of this important group of producers. All come from different regions, all have their own traditions and stories, and yet all produce wines with the same spirit, seriousness and beliefs that have always guided me. I am extremely grateful to David Berry Green and the historic Berry Bros & Rudd – one of the oldest and most traditional wine merchants in London – for giving opportunities to producers such as myself so that we can gather together, express the reality of our lives, what we are trying to do, and above all show our wines to people who understand and appreciate our efforts.

Such recognition is important: it makes me feel satisfied, that, in spite of difficult times, I have had the strength to work hard and to follow my own road, rather than a purely commercial path.  I feel too that this recognition is not just for me, but also a fitting recompense for the efforts of my grandfather Saverio, my great-grandfather Giuseppe and indeed all of the six generations of my family as well as everyone who has encouraged and continued to believe in me. Grazie!

4 September - Today it rained, also yesterday. After the spell of hot weather that we've had the past two weeks, the rain has been beneficial, especially for the Nebbiolo grapes which were beginning to be a little stressed due to the lack of moisture. We havested the Dolcetto last Tuesday and Wednesday, working only in the morning beginning at dawn in order to be able to bring the grapes to the cellar before the full heat of the day. Today we have begun to rack the first barrels. To be honest, prior to starting the harvest, I was somewhat concerned for the Dolcetto, that during the last phase of maturation the heat may have been too excessive, since Dolcetto is a very delicate grape. However, it seems that all is wel., The sugar levels and the colour are excellent and I am hopeful that we will be able to enjoy some good glasses of Dolcetto 2011. The only problem is the quantity, in fact our yield this year is down by 15-20%, though I had expected this.

30 August - the start of the harvest!

29 May - Lots of work in the vineyard but all is going well. The vineyards are 10 days more forward than usual! There are no problems with maladies and so we need to treat the vines only infrequently. This picture shows the allegagione - the setting of the fruit after the flowering:

18 March - Cascina Fontana in Hong Kong.

12 February - In the vineyard, the pruning has now almost been completed. Renato, Goran and I have only the Vigna il Castello at Sinio still to do. We have had two significant snowfalls over the past months, and we hope that this will be beneficial for the growing season to come.

In the cellar, work continues. At this moment, the new wines - Barbera, Rosato di Nebbiolo, and a part of the Dolcetto - are undergoing their period of time in the outdoor vats, a process of natural cold stabilisation. This has been going on since the beginning of January and will continue through the rest of February. The Moscato MPF 2010 is now in bottle and the Gavi 2010 will be bottled in April. I'm particularly pleased with the Gavi, very full and with intense aromas.

10 February - An article featuring our wines in The Daily Telegraph.

2010 Harvest News

15 October The harvest is finished. The grapes are in the cantina and now the task of winemaking begins. Finally I can feel more relaxed, calm. All is going well. I have already completed the first racking of the Dolcetto and Barbera. The wines are very perfumed and have an intense colour. I am content, satisfied, and feel as you do after a long walk in the mountains, when you arrive at the summit where you are finally able to relax and feel proud to have reached your goal. The path to arrive at the harvest is long and tiring, but, as in all the other previous harvests, I only become aware of this afterwards. Throughout the year, my thoughts are so concentrated on the work in the vineyard and in the cellar that I don't feel tired. I am focused entirely on a successful harvest, and this leaves me unable even to think about all the risks that are caused by bad weather. In this way, I am able to work calmly, without fear and without even feeling tired. Now that the grapes are in, I only have to take care of the winemaking and pay attention to all the other tasks that must be done. Nature will do the rest. There is no longer the danger that a storm could arrive and ruin all the year's work.

And so, we are moving into the period that is pefumed by the scents of autumn: roasted chestnuts, white Alba truffles and new wine! For me, this is the best part of the year. The first fogs have arrived and the land is preparing itself for winter. You can see this in the colours of the trees and the vines which are very beautiful. All of this is simply fantastic.

Harvesting Nebbiolo in perfect weather

Work in the cellar

9 October 2010 - The Barbera grapes are now all in the cellar and have been fermenting for 2 days. It was a very good harvest, the grapes in excellent condition, with the bunches well matured and full of sugar-rich juice. The hydrometer measured 21,5, which means that we will have a Barbera that will reach 13,5%, very good. Yesterday we also harvested the Nebbiolo grapes at Gallinotto. I preferred to harvest them now rather than to wait. Gallinotto is lower in altitude to our vineyards at Castiglione Falletto and Sinio, which we plan to harvest in the coming week.

Barbera grapes in beautiful condition

A good level of sugar means that the Barbera should reach 13,5%

19 September 2010 - The Dolcetto harvest is now complete. We are satisfied with the quality of the grapes: good acidity, colour and sugar levels. The yield is good, too - not an excessive harvest, but sufficient. For the moment, tutto bene. The Barbera harvest will be next, and finally Nebbiolo. Here are some photos from the past few days.

Dolcetto grapes, harvested in small crates to ensure they reach the cantina in optimum condition

Zio Armando helps with the harvest. He knows the vineyard of the Castello di Sinio better than anyone

Not yet wine - but soon it will be!