WINES WITH AN ATTITUDE

Fattoria Castellina’s wines reflect their terroir, their winemaker’s respect for the environment, and their vintage year.

The vineyards in Castra are planted in sandy-silt soils with sandstone-derived gravel-pebble texture, conditions that favour development of volatile substances and aromas in the fruit. Choice of grape varieties, vineyard layout, training systems, labour-intensive vineyard management practices, low crop yields, meticulously determined harvesting periods, grape transportation, fermentation, maturation, and ageing, each represents an equally crucial step in the creation of an ultra high-quality wine.

To give an idea of the uncommon passion and discipline in our practices, consider that to achieve the most efficient use of a steep, terraced hillside of scarcely 6,000 sq.m., we planted sangiovese utilising the “settonce” or triangular system widespread in ancient Greece, a series of equilateral triangles, 120 cm on a side, with a vine at each angle, an extremely laborious and expensive operation, carried out completely by hand, of course, given the restricted space and steep slope. The vines, at some 9,000 per hectare, sink their roots deep, which lends a marked minerality to the wine. Further, the head-trained system ensures each vine full exposure to the sun throughout the day and thus optimal ripening of the fruit. Yields are kept to about 500 gr per vine to maximize extractive richness.

All the wines, from the most straightforward and youthful, matured in stainless steel to bring out their easy-drinking character, to those more complex and cellarable, matured slowly in French oak barrels, receive appropriate bottle-ageing. Among the many characteristics most reflective of their local terroir predominate fragrances, aromas, and flavours redolent of violets, cherry, mint, liquorice, dried plum, and wild red berries.

We have always been tireless in combating vineyard pests through integrated vineyard management practices, and for quite a few years now our wines have achieved an ever greater following among critics and wine lovers. We felt, however, that we should be doing something more with respect to the core values of our wines, while both safeguarding the environment and protecting human health. We were struck by tasting wines that were completely natural, as well as by the experiences enthusiastically described by avant-garde winemaking friends, and so under the talented guidance of biodynamic agronomist Dr. Leonello Anello - the source to which all the wines we appreciated led -, we unhesitatingly adopted, in the spring of 2004, the biodynamic method and radically changed out winemaking approach.

Thanks to a change of regime in the vineyards and to a favourable growing season, that very first autumn saw us excitedly witnessing our first spontaneous fermentation. Our very first wines, right from the very start, were concrete evidence of the validity of the new method, and augured even more promising future results. We now must preserve their quality and naturalness through all the steps of maturation and ageing, as well as enable you to share our emotions.

We realise that we are still at just the beginning of this path, but we can nevertheless see quite clearly what this method can provide in terms of authenticity, identity, and wine quality, not to mention the health benefits to those who enjoy such products. This realisation is driven home by the ever-growing number of persons who request to return as guests in our agritourism. Once they find themselves here among us, in fact, the results are sincere, long-lasting friendships.