When a fruit of the earth comes from a place “in harmony with the forces of nature”, it already has the potential to be “excellent”.

Respect for nature, the place that hosts us and the people that live and work there: these are the principles that our family has always observed in its management of the Tenuta di Ghizzano estate and has handed down through the generations.

Our journey towards “natural” farming
We began our “natural” organic winegrowing journey in 2003, with no use whatsoever of organic fertilisers, weed killers, insecticides and fungicides. We nourish the earth with green manure seeds and other seeds which add nitrogenous substances (e.g. oats and clover). In 2006 we began practising biodynamic farming, carrying out treatments with preparation 500, 3 or 4 times a year (in autumn and spring) and 501 (pre and post flowering and every time we feel it is appropriate). As we do not use weed killers, we work the soil under vines to oxygenate it and control weed growth. With my collaborators Michele Franci and Roberto Righi we have attended courses on biodynamic farming and become members of the “AGRICOLTURA VIVENTE” association. Together with other farmers, at least twice a year, we host the French agronomist PIERRE MASSON, who supports us and advises us on biodynamic farming practises. Since 2008 we have been officially certified as ORGANIC by the Certifying Board “Suolo e Salute” (not only vineyards, but also olive groves and seed crops).

How we cultivate vines
Our vines are mostly grown using the spurred cordon training system and managed with winter pruning, usually leaving 4 eyes. We sow about 30 different varieties of seeds between the rows of vines to have nitrogenous substance and allow the soil to breathe. Desuckering begins in late spring and in summer we ventilate the leaf wall by removing some of the buds that generate laterals. We do not tip shoots, preferring to entwine them with the 5th wire. We only use copper and sulphur in low concentrations to manage fungal diseases and bacillus turingensis when we have a severe attack of grape caterpillar. We thin grapes (green harvest) only when the plant requires it because the grapes/leaf wall are imbalanced. Depending on vintages and varieties, we decide if and how many grapes to remove from every plant. WE DO NOT THIN if we think it is unnecessary.

The grape harvest
We usually start at the very beginning of September with Merlot, followed by Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, ending up with Petit Verdot. Tasting grapes and using occasional sample analysis (sugars, pH and acidity), we decide when to harvest each variety or land parcel. Naturally we harvest into small aerated crates with a capacity of approximately 20 kg. Once the grapes arrive in the cellar, we transfer them to the sorting table to check that they are healthy and undamaged. Only following a meticulous selection they are tipped into the destalking machine. They are not put through a pump, but transferred into small steel carts with a capacity of 0.2 tons, where they are “tread” by foot. No selected yeasts are used in the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation processes.
We transfer the must into vats without using pumps. Fermentation lasts between 7 and 12 days, depending on varieties and especially on vintages. We taste the must every morning and decide how to proceed. We use steel and concrete tanks, as well as wooden vats with a capacity of 3000 l, depending on the variety and grape condition (and also on the availability of tanks!). The hat is plunged by hand and we also perform delestage if we experience particular difficulties with reduction. We try to avoid pumping over (only doing so very briefly when absolutely necessary) to avoid influencing the must with pumps. We have a tank cooling system which we use especially when temperatures exceed 30°C. All our wines undergo malo-lactic fermentation, which for those used to make Veneroso and Nambrot takes place in wood.

Maturing in wood
Our wines mature in oak casks having a capacity of 225 litres, 500 litres and 3 tons for a period of between 16 and 18 months depending on the vintage.

We use wood alone as the INSTRUMENT for the evolution of wine in time, to allow it to mature, without ADDING wood tannins, as we do not want the wood to overpower the fruit.

With Veneroso and Nambrot, our aim is to make wines with a long cellar life and the right fruit/acidity/wood balance.
For Veneroso we have been using 500-litre barrels instead of barriques for several years, especially for Sangiovese, using very little new wood (only ¼). For Nambrot on the other hand, we still need small wood containers, although we have reduced the use of new wood to 30%.