The vineyards
The different types of soil and the variety of micro-climates that characterise the Euganean Hills region have allowed us to find the best location for our vines which are suitable for producing concentrated, tannic, aromatic and mineral grapes. In the vineyards on the southern side, red grapes are produced, such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, while Pinot Nero grapes and a small amount of Chardonnay are grown in the southwest side. The age of the grapevines varies greatly from 7 to 23 years and all are grown in purely limestone soil. A very small part of the Cabernet Franc grapevines are grown in a red clay soil which was washed down from the surrounding hills in the past.
Due to the low fertility of these soils, two forms of pruning are used. "Guyot" is used for the varieties where the basal buds differ only in wood and "spurred cordon" is used for the remaining varieties. The dense vine spacing, making sure to avoid increased tension, allows 5,500 to 6,000 grapevines to be grown per hectare. Our production goal is to obtain a bottle of wine for each vine from our vineyards. The vineyards are located on average at an altitude of 150 metres above sea level. The space between the rows of vines is alternatively left covered by grass in order to allow the vines' roots the opportunity to spread out over the ground and to reduce any rain evaporation present in this area which is usually very scarce.
In the Baone area, located in Valle San Giorgio which is a small valley, the vines can be found on the right side of the hills, the same hills that were formed by the raising of the seabed by a volcanic phenomena. The soils here are composed of a high level of limestone which was actually used and extracted in the past for the production of lime and cement.
In 1990, after purchasing the property, the land was developed with workable slopes in order to plant vineyards. Where the Pianoro is grown, the seabed is emerging so the soil is not very fertile and the unit production is very low. Here, the vineyard covers a total area of 4.5 hectares, where Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Nero are growned. In times past, there was washout which came down from the hills, therefore, looking at the lowest part of the vineyard, we find that the ground has been formed from red clay, which makes growing varieties such as Cabernet Franc, a later-ripening grape, more suitable due to its resistance to drought.
