il Roccolo di Monticelli - 'Cinciallegra' - Pétnat of Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave - Veneto, IT - 2021

Notes from the Winery/Importer

Grape variety: Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave Year of planting: 1970 Soil: Highest part of our vineyard, limestone rock with a good surface layer of very fertile soil Breeding: Pergola Veronese Fertilization: No fertilization or irrigation, only biodynamic preparations to stimulate and nourish the organic substance Treatments: Only Copper and Sulphur at minimum doses, herbal macerates and biodynamic preparations Harvest: By hand Fermentation: Spontaneous with only indigenous yeasts Refermentation: Frozen Garganega must from the same vintage - Maceration: Yes, very short, 2-3 days - Filtration: None - Aging: Six months in steel tanks and subsequent 12 months in bottle on the lees HARVEST AND VINIFICATION A single and careful manual harvest in crates with selection of the grapes at full ripeness. The fermentation took place spontaneously in steel tanks with a brief contact on the skins of only 2-3 days, in order to help the good start of the fermentation with all the yeasts naturally present on the skins. We do not add to this wine or to all the others any product or foreign substance, only 100% grapes. The refermentation was started in bottles with the addition of must from the same grapes frozen during the harvest in order to preserve its natural sugars and yeasts. The dosage is calculated to reach 2 atm in the bottle and obtain a delicate, non-aggressive bubble, which makes this wine cheerful, sparkling, pleasant. The wine and the must were not filtered, nor was disgorging carried out, so in the bottle there is some deposit, the so-called "lees", consisting mainly of its own yeasts.

It takes its name from a bird, the great tit, very recognizable thanks to the colors of its yellow and blue plumage. Present in our vineyards, its name contains a characteristic of this “allegro” wine, that is, sparkling and fun.

Notes on the Producer

Located in the hills of Vallata di Mezzane, near Verona, in Veneto, Silvia has taken over her family’s abandoned vineyards and revived them to produce the natural wines as was done in the past without any additives or invasive farming methods. After studying agricultural science this became her passion, tending to the vineyards planted in the 1960’s and 1970’s to Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave, doing everything from vineyard to cellar in order to know intimately the entire process.

The Garganega and Trebbiano were planted in 1970 in mixed soils with predominante limestone depsoits, while the Corvina as planted more recently in 2017. Silvia works tenaciously to produce the best that the land will give them each year, harvesting only by hand so as not to harm the vines and eschewing any treatments or fertilizers, only minimal amounts of copper and sulphur to protect the vines when needed. They allow the land to speak to them and be reflected in the wine, allowing nature take its course in order to preserve the natural biodiversity of the area which is of utmost importance: cultivating olive trees, bee colonies, allowing local vegetation to grow between the vines, nurture the soils and attract local flora to create a long-lasting and healthy environment.

In the cellar, Silvia uses extended maceration time and leaves her wines unfined and unfiltered, just as her ancestors would have done.
-Savio Soares