Ordinary members

Long ago, in the year 1140, the Augustinian canons of the monastery of Klosterneuberg in Austria, near Vienna, founded the Abbey of Novacella in Varna, just outside of what is now the city of Bressanone, an edifice with a long history and rich culture, an extraordinary library and wine cellars with many centuries of active life.
The Augustinians taught the local inhabitants and the entire Adige river valley as far as San Michele how to reclaim the land and cultivate the vine. The area around Bressanone is the northernmost viticultural area of Italy and one of the highest, in altitude, in all of Europe; weather conditions are extreme for the cultivation of the vine, and every year the growers must challenge nature in order to obtain grapes of real quality. Winters are particularly lengthy and harsh, but there are nonetheless excellent conditions for the cultivation of certain aromatic grape varieties which give fragrant, tasty, and mineral-flavored wines. Here in the steepest and best-exposed vineyards, those with a southern exposure, such white grape varieties as Sylvaner, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, and Veltiner have been planted for a total of 50 acres under vine. The grapes of the best vineyard plots are selected, with rigid criteria, every year and utilized for the line of high-level wines called “Praepositus”. Among these, Kerner merits special mention: a characteristic straw yellow color with green highlights, aromas of anise and pine resin, dry and mineral flavors. The Gewürztraminer, as well, is strikingly rich in aromas of spicy, tropical fruit.
The Abbey of Novacella, in addition to its properties in Varna, owns the Tenuta Mariaheim in the center of the city of Bolzano, an area with ideal conditions for the Lagrein grape, noted for wines with a purplish ruby color, ample aromas, and superior fullness and texture.
In Cornaiano, near the outskirts of Bolzano, at the confluence of the Adige and Isarco rivers, the Abbey owns the Markholf estate where Pinot Noir and Moscato Rosa are cultivated. From the former variety elegant and supple wines are produced, while the latter is noted for its rose-tinted color, its explosive fragrance of dried roses and spices, and its sweet and caressing palate.
Long ago, in the year 1140, the Augustinian canons of the monastery of Klosterneuberg in Austria, near Vienna, founded the Abbey of Novacella in Varna, just outside of what is now the city of Bressanone, an edifice with a long history and rich culture, an extraordinary library and wine cellars with many centuries of active life.
The Augustinians taught the local inhabitants and the entire Adige river valley as far as San Michele how to reclaim the land and cultivate the vine. The area around Bressanone is the northernmost viticultural area of Italy and one of the highest, in altitude, in all of Europe; weather conditions are extreme for the cultivation of the vine, and every year the growers must challenge nature in order to obtain grapes of real quality. Winters are particularly lengthy and harsh, but there are nonetheless excellent conditions for the cultivation of certain aromatic grape varieties which give fragrant, tasty, and mineral-flavored wines. Here in the steepest and best-exposed vineyards, those with a southern exposure, such white grape varieties as Sylvaner, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, and Veltiner have been planted for a total of 50 acres under vine. The grapes of the best vineyard plots are selected, with rigid criteria, every year and utilized for the line of high-level wines called “Praepositus”. Among these, Kerner merits special mention: a characteristic straw yellow color with green highlights, aromas of anise and pine resin, dry and mineral flavors. The Gewürztraminer, as well, is strikingly rich in aromas of spicy, tropical fruit.
The Abbey of Novacella, in addition to its properties in Varna, owns the Tenuta Mariaheim in the center of the city of Bolzano, an area with ideal conditions for the Lagrein grape, noted for wines with a purplish ruby color, ample aromas, and superior fullness and texture.
In Cornaiano, near the outskirts of Bolzano, at the confluence of the Adige and Isarco rivers, the Abbey owns the Markholf estate where Pinot Noir and Moscato Rosa are cultivated. From the former variety elegant and supple wines are produced, while the latter is noted for its rose-tinted color, its explosive fragrance of dried roses and spices, and its sweet and caressing palate.
Long ago, in the year 1140, the Augustinian canons of the monastery of Klosterneuberg in Austria, near Vienna, founded the Abbey of Novacella in Varna, just outside of what is now the city of Bressanone, an edifice with a long history and rich culture, an extraordinary library and wine cellars with many centuries of active life.
The Augustinians taught the local inhabitants and the entire Adige river valley as far as San Michele how to reclaim the land and cultivate the vine. The area around Bressanone is the northernmost viticultural area of Italy and one of the highest, in altitude, in all of Europe; weather conditions are extreme for the cultivation of the vine, and every year the growers must challenge nature in order to obtain grapes of real quality. Winters are particularly lengthy and harsh, but there are nonetheless excellent conditions for the cultivation of certain aromatic grape varieties which give fragrant, tasty, and mineral-flavored wines. Here in the steepest and best-exposed vineyards, those with a southern exposure, such white grape varieties as Sylvaner, Kerner, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, and Veltiner have been planted for a total of 50 acres under vine. The grapes of the best vineyard plots are selected, with rigid criteria, every year and utilized for the line of high-level wines called “Praepositus”. Among these, Kerner merits special mention: a characteristic straw yellow color with green highlights, aromas of anise and pine resin, dry and mineral flavors. The Gewürztraminer, as well, is strikingly rich in aromas of spicy, tropical fruit.
The Abbey of Novacella, in addition to its properties in Varna, owns the Tenuta Mariaheim in the center of the city of Bolzano, an area with ideal conditions for the Lagrein grape, noted for wines with a purplish ruby color, ample aromas, and superior fullness and texture.
In Cornaiano, near the outskirts of Bolzano, at the confluence of the Adige and Isarco rivers, the Abbey owns the Markholf estate where Pinot Noir and Moscato Rosa are cultivated. From the former variety elegant and supple wines are produced, while the latter is noted for its rose-tinted color, its explosive fragrance of dried roses and spices, and its sweet and caressing palate.

An awarding-winning winery, recognized at Vinitaly, Italy’s major wine fair, as Italy’s finest cellar for eleven straight years, Castello Banfi has deserved the recognition it has gained because it represents a model enterprise in the field of wine, capable of reconciling, at the highest possible level, excellent quality and very large production volumes: it is the largest estate in Montalcino with over 7000 total acres, including more than 2100 planted to vines, and its annual production is over 11.5 million bottles. The creators of Banfi were two Italian-Americans, brothers John and Harry Mariani. When they began to purchase land in Montalcino in 1978, they had already been the directors, for over fifteen years, of Banfi Vintners, the largest wine-importing firm in the USA, inherited from their father Giovanni, of Italian origin, who had founded it in 1919. Their ambition? To produce high quality Italian wine for international markets on their own. The house is different from others in Montalcino: it does not produce one limited type of wine, but an entire range of wines at different prices and with different styles. At the highest quality level of the estate, in fact, there is not only the Brunello di Montalcino Poggio all’Oro, produced form the finest vineyard plots, but also other ambitious red wines: Excelsus, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Summus, a Sangiovese mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, two Super Tuscans which are marketed under the Sant’Antimo appellation. The most American-influenced part of Banfi is the cellar, an enormous and completely modern structure which is continuously updated with the most advanced technology on the market. The Mariani brothers have not forgotten, however, that wine is culture as well, and in the Poggio alle Mura castle, a former fortress of the Republic of Siena, they have installed a museum of glassware which shows all of the stages of the development of the bottle, from the ancient world to modern times.

Boscarelli is a winery in Montepulciano founded in 1962 by Egidio Corradi. By producing a high quality wine, the founder intended to render homage to his birthplace, Tuscany, which he had left for Milan and Genova in order to pursue his professional activities. The hill of Cervognano is the location of this small estate which has dedicated its work to recovering the fame once enjoyed by Vino Nobile di Montepulciano; the position is in the southeastern part of the appellation, near the Valdichiana, at approximately 1000 feet above sea level. The objectives are to produce a traditional Vino Nobile of real character, and to create red wines which demonstrate the quality potential of the site and of Sangiovese. Of the overall total of 32 acres of vineyards, 28 are planted for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and the remaining fraction to produce Rosso di Montepulciano. There are two major wines: il Nocio dei Boscarelli is the best known. After destemming and soft pressing, the grapes ferment in small oak fermenters for ten days at temperatures between 82° and 90° Fahrenheit. The cap is pumped over in the early stages of fermentation, and the cap punched down in the later ones. Skin contact then goes forward for another ten days. After the malolactic fermentation, Nocio ages in 500 to 1000 liter casks of French Allier oak and Slavonian oak. Aging last 18 to 24 months, and a light filtration precedes bottling. Bottle aging last three to six months. It is a wine of great impact, ruby red, elegant in aroma, an ideal match to game. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is the second important wine. The Sangiovese and Prugnolo Gentile grapes, hand picked into small packing cases, ferment in in stainless steel tanks and oak fermenters after destemming and pressing. Fermentation last one week at temperatures between 82° and 86° Fahrenheit with frequent pumping over and punching down of the cap. After the malolactic fermentation, the wine ages for 18 to 24 months in 500 to 3500 liter casks. Aging last 18 to 24 months. The wine is lightly filtered, if necessary, before bottling. Ruby red, redolent of plums, cherries, and spices, it is warm and long on the palate.

Things began to move at the Castello del Terriccio in 1975 when Gian Annibale Rossi di Medelana inherited the property. It is a very large estate with a castle, a hamlet, and many country farmhouses situated in a magnificent position in the hills of Castellina Marittima, a township on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea just a few miles away from Bolgheri. Rossi inherited the property from his great-uncle Serafini Ferri, who had taken in hand the estate in the first years after the Second World War, dedicating his time and energy to the cultivation of cereals; Rossi instead began to modify the crops, planting a part of the property to vineyards. Vineyards which were carefully planned and prepared before planting (with high vine density and limited production per vine) and only after a careful analysis of soil and climate. Studies which revealed that, just like nearby Bolgheri, there were real affinities with Bordeaux. Accordingly international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot substituted the local Sangiovese and Trebbiano and were an authentic revolution for Castellina Marittima. An idea and an inspiration which proved to be winning choices. The first wines were produced in 1986 and began immediately to interest both the media and connoisseurs. Lupicaia is the symbol of Terriccio, a classic Bordeaux blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and a touch of Petit Verdot); the Merlot and Cabernet are aged separately in barrique for 18 months and then, just as in Bordeaux, blended together in percentages which vary from year to year. The blend serves to bring out the maximum potential of the vintage and creates the possibility of producing, each year, a perfectly balanced wine, intense, supple, and, above all, long-lived. A wine which has won much recognition and many awards on an international scale. Another wine, named Castello del Terriccio, began to be produced in 2000 and is a blend of Syrah (another non-local variety which has given excellent results at Terriccio), Merlot, and other grapes. A wine which is complex, dense, and very spicy. Tassinaia rounds out the range, a Sangiovese with Merlot and PetitVerdot. But Terriccio is not solely a red wine estate, as its Rondinaia, a suave and balanced Chardonnay, demonstrates.

Vicchiomaggio is one of the loveliest historic residences of Tuscany, surrounded as it is by grounds of over 375 acres. It has hosted such illustrious figures as Leonardo da Vinci and Francesco Redi, who composed on this spot his famous poem “Bacchus in Tuscany”. The current owners are John and Paola Matta. The origins of the castle, first called Vicchio dei Longobardi, data from the early 15th century, as documented by old scrolls still in existence today. It is situated atop a hill which dominates the entire Greve river valley, fifteen miles from Florence and thirty from Siena, a highly strategic spot within the Chianti Classico area. The viticultural estate, supervised by the owners with the assistance of highly qualified personnel, produces an entire range of high level wines, all different, all in a separate style which vary from the traditional to the innovative. But all are fundamentally expressions of the zone in which they are produced. To obtain these results the entire property has been analyzed and classified according to the soil type and vineyard exposure. Among the wines of the cellar is the Chianti Classico San Jacopo, named for an old stone farmhouse of the estate. A blend of Sangiovese (90%), Canaiolo (5%), and Colorino (5%), it is aged in large casks and is quite classic in style. The blend of traditional grape varieties gives this wine, well structured and richly fruity, an attractive color and notes of violets, plums, and cherries. The wine is warm and supple on the palate as well, an excellent match with steak and grilled meat. The Chianti Classico Riserva Petri, from a vineyard with over 20 years of age, is, instead, aged in small oak barrels for six months before going into larger (2500-7500 liter) casks for a further nine months of aging. A wine of excellent structure: it is fruity, spicy, and warm, a fine accompaniment to red meat. Finally, the Chianti Classico Riserva La Prima, from a thirty five year old vineyard, is a wine sought after by connoisseurs all over the world (12,000 bottles is the annual production). An intense ruby red in color, powerful on the nose, concentrated and with aromas of dried flowers, ripe red fruit, and lightly spicy, it is ample and soft in flavor and goes well with soups, particularly the classic Tuscan bread soup, spit-grilled meat, and cheese of a certain age.

The experience of Alberto and Diego Cusumano in the field of wine is not recent history, but goes back some forty years when their father, proprietor of vat landed holdings in various parts of Sicily, produced concentrated must for export to northern Italy.
Wine itself was something which arrived later, in the 1980’s, when the Cusumano realized that the future needed to be planned and that large-scale production had little future. It was then that a process of selection began to be practiced, planting the finest clones of the traditional grape varieties of Sicily, Insolia and Nero d’Avola, and the first plantings of such international varieties as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.
Truly fundamental changes only began in the mid-1990’s, when Diego and Alberto Cusumano joined the family firm. The objective of the brothers, however, was not to perpetuate the ideas of their father but to base their work on quality wine.
Dynamic entrepreneurs, Diego and Alberto work with the advantage of a very large patrimony: 1000 acres of vineyards divided among seven different estates, for the most part in the finest areas of Sicily such as Alcamo, Monreale, Partinico, Ficuzza, and Bufera, vineyards which yield an annual production of two million bottles.
Their young firm has, in a short space of time, become an important market phenomenon with a world-wide reputation stretching from Russia to the USA based a happy combination of modern technology and territorial character. One of the most representative wines, Angimbè, a blend of 70% Insolia and 30% Chardonnay, was selected by the Wine Spectator in 2004 as one of the 100 finest wines of the world and, in 2008, as one of the finest values in Italian wine.
The two crus of the house are unquestionably Noà, a blend of 40% Nero d’Avola, 30% Cabernet, and 30% Merlot, and Sàgana, 100% Nero d’Avola, both “three goblet” wines of the authoritative Gambero Rosso guide to Italian wine.
The most important objective at the moment is to create a solid image of the wines and the firm on an international level, the emblem of a Sicily of true quality. Both Diego and Alberto dedicate a large part of their time to the realization of this goal.

Giuseppe Alliata was prince of Villafranca and Duke of Salaparuta, but he was a man of progressive ideas. It was in 1824 that he decided to ferment the Inzolia grapes of his estate in the Corvo zone of Casteldaccia; he wished that his own personality be mirrored in the wine he intended to produce for the illustrious hosts who visited his residence of Villa Valguarnera. And thus Corvo was born, an aristocratic, non-conformist wine which soon left the salons of Sicily to compete with the major labels of its time. The challenge, to produce international-level wines with Sicilian grapes, was taken up by his son Edoardo as well, and then by his grandson Enrico. The last of these was a fascinating personality, a philosopher, a musician, a pioneer in the promotion of the Mediterranean diet. Under his guidance the winery grew, with an eye to international experiences as well. At the death of Duke Enrico, however, his daughter Topazio did not feel up to direct the property, by now of an important size, and in1961 sold it to a financial structure controlled by the regional government of Sicily, Espi, under which it achieved important success. Exactly forty years later, in May 2001, the house was sold once again: the firm was privatized, auctioned to potential purchasers. The highest bidder was the Illva Saronno through a firm it controlled in Sicily, Florio of Marsala. The strategy of Augusto Reina, CEO of Illva Saronno, was well thought-out: create a Sicilian wine powerhouse by taking advantage of the synergy between two brands, both of international level. Florio, number one in he field of Marsala and passito wines, and Duca di Salaparuta, number one in table wine on the island with two major wines in its portfolio: a red wine of the calibre of Duca Enrico, a Nero d’Avola, and a structured white wine, Bianca di Valguarnera, an Inzolia. In order to achieve his goals, Reina merged the two houses into a new company, Duca di Salaparuta S.p.A. invested 30 million euro to modernize the Duca di Salaparuta cellars at Casteldaccia and at Aspra. The key investment was for vineyards. Although producing 9 million bottles per year, the company did not own its own vineyards but purchased grapes from selected zones and cultivators. The purchase of the large Suor Marchesa property, close to 240 acres at Butera, a fine area for Neor d’Avola, and of 22 acres at Castiglione di Sicilia on the slopes of Mount Etna, with an extraordinary potential for Nerello Mascalese and Pinot Noir, are only the beginning of a program to endow Duca di Salaparuta with crus suitable to its ambitions.

In Ortona in the Abruzzo region, Farnese is a virtual synonym for wine ever since the day, in 1538, when Margaret of Austria, married to a Farnese prince, decided to retire from court life and construct, right in this spot, the splendid Farnese palace. During this period the city lived in splendour and all of its activities received a new stimulus, in particular the cultivation of grapes; the wines were drunk at the banquets of the most important European courts. Farnese wines, a young enterprise of the region which has conquered an important role in major Italian and European markets, is the heir to this story. The firm’s headquarters is in the historic Caldora castle, constructed in the 15th century by military leader Giacomo Caldora to defend the city of Ortona and restored to the splendor of yesteryear. The mission of the house is to give deserved recognition to all of the areas and wines of the Abruzzo region; for this reason it owns vineyards both in the province of Chieti, where the white grape and Sangiovese vineyards are located, and in the province of Teramo where, in the renovated cellars in Roseto degli Abruzzi, are situated the most significant crus of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
A major example of the philosophy which concentrates its efforts on behalf of native grape varieties is Edizione Cinque, which blends five of these grapes to create the pride of the house. The intention was to invent a wine which expressed the millennia-old traditions of two regions where the firm has invested important resources, Abruzzo and Apulia (where Farnese is involved in Feudi di San Marzano). This “autochthonous” cru is a blend of the Montepulciano and Sangiovese of Abruzzo and the Primitivo, Negroamaro, and Malvasia Nera from Apulia. A deep garnet red, almost impenetrable in tonality, it is very intense and persistent on the nose with notes of cherries, plums, berries, tobacco, and a final toasty sensation. Large in structure, it is warm and soft on the palate with elegant and supple tannins and a long finish of spice and chocolate. Ready upon release, it can age well for another eight to ten years. Best drunk at 64-68° Fahrenheit, it goes extremely well with rich sauces, red meat, and game.

Even if “Felsina” is a name of Etruscan origin, it was not until the Roman Empire that an activity of nourishment for travellers can be documented, further developed during the Middle Ages when the spot became a center of assistance an hospitality and pilgrims. A lengthy history, in short, which from Benedictine monks extends all the way to Domenico Poggiali, the founder in 1966 of Fattoria di Felsina.
Located in the township of Castlenuovo Berardenga, at the southeastern edge of the Chianti Classico appellation (at the gateway to the Ombrone valley), Fèlsina is currently directed by Poggiali’s son-in-law, Giuseppe Mazzocolin, and now extends over more than1200 acres of land, 155 of which planted to vines. The aim of Mazzocolin – seconded by his winemaker, Franco Bernabei – is to realize the maximum expressiveness of each and every single vineyard plot; operating through a quality-oriented selection of the “Sangioveto” cultivated on the estate, he has imposed an innovative series of decisions and choices.
In 1983, in fact, the first vintage of Fontalloro was produced, a splendid, pure Sangiovese wine, presented, almost as a provocation, without appellation status. In formal terms, a lower classification, that of a mere “table wine”, but accepted as a protest against the antiquated rules of the DOC and also as an attempt to bring out, thanks to a careful blend, all the characteristics of Tuscany’s major grape variety, cultivated in vineyards that were both inside and outside the appellation boundaries. Thanks to this courageous decision, to rigorous and original choices, it is now possible to speak of a “Fèlsina style”, a rare conception of wine which prefers the maximum elegance to excesses of concentration and structure.
Just as in the case of Fontalloro, the Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia and Maestro Raro – named for two country farhouses near the vineyards – offer, in an entirely different way, a shared aromatic finesse and a pronounced aging ability which derives from the powerful tannins of the wines.
The estate’s range, moreover, includes a Tuscan Chardonnay, I Sistri, and an excellent Vin Santo of Chianti Classico, one of Italy’s most intriguing dessert wines.

The Grattamacco estate, located in a privileged position on the hills of Bolgheri in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, was founded in 1977. Today led by the Tipa-Bertarelli family (Claudio Tipa is the uncle of Ernesto Bertarelli, the owner of Alinghi – the sailing team that won twice the America’s Cup), Today, the Grattamacco estate counts 80 hectares, 29 of which are vineyards, 4 of which are olive groves, surrounded by a vast woodland that moderates the Tyrrhenian sea’s winds, for a drying effect that allows the estate to work sustainably. As a matter of fact, in 1997 Grattamacco was the very first estate in Bolgheri that certified organic.
The Grattamacco Rosso (Bolgheri Superiore DOC), an icon of the area with the first vintage produced in 1982, goes beyond the typical Super Tuscan of the area maintaining its Tuscan roots with the presence of Sangiovese in the blend together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
A dry climate thanks to the influence of sea breezes, with thermal excursions between days and nights, allow our grapes to reach always a perfect maturation maintaining the correct acidity (freshness) and develop the wine’s sweet tannins and a savory edge.
Interesting to know that the estate was the first to plant Vermentino in Bolgheri with the oldest vineyard from 1986 and still fully in production —a varietal followed by many in Bolgheri.
For the production of Grattamacco Rosso, the grapes are hand harvested and spontaneously fermented by the winemaker Luca Marrone in 7hl open conical oak vats with very long macerations. The wines are then aged in French oak barriques, from the new to the second passage.
Under the Tipa-Bertarelli family, a single vineyard was planted in 2004, located on the plain with a terroir mix of silt and red sandy soils. A typical Bordeaux Left Bank blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot grown in an ancestral exagon pattern called “settonce” and trained them alberello or head-pruning, hence the wine’s name, L’Alberello.
The Tipa-Bertarelli family started their wine project in 1999 with the acquisition of the Colle Massari castle in the Montecucco DOC, located about an hour away from Bolgheri.
Colle Massari vineyards are located at 300 meters above sea level, with the influence of Montalcino and Monte Amiata – an extinct volcano, but 30 Km closer to the Tyrrhenian Sea. That maritime influence allows us to also grow Vermentino achieving a mineral and aromatic character, while Sangiovese share Montalcino’s boldness, but with softer tannins and darker fruit and a unique balsamic note.