Cianfagna Farm

Since 1860 the Cianfagna family is dedicated to agricultural production.
The winery was founded in 1999. Vincenzo Gianfagna inherited the holding of Pasquale, his father.
The goal of Vincenzo Cianfagna is to enhance and innovate the family tradition. The choices are devoted to obtaining a high-quality wine, genuine and unique, obtained by processing grapes that are exclusively producted by the family, and obviously lovingly cured.
The meticulous control of all stages of production, from the vineyard to the bottle, takes place in the beautiful hills of Molise, surrounded by incredible landscapes.

Vineyards

In 1999 the hectares of vineyards were 4, including 3 of Tintilia and 1 of Aglianico. The vineyards are located on a hill about 500 mt. above sea level, in the town of Acquaviva Collecroce, about 30 km from the sea and 70 km from the city of Campobasso. The plant was the result of careful studies and a period of experimentation and research on the vineyard with the University of Molise, that led to choose the row cordon. The position of the vineyards led to an ideal pedoclimate for Tintilia.
In that zone the soil is mostly clay. The climate presents good temperature range, not only between seasons but also between day and night. The area is well ventilated even in summer, and the temperature between day and night can vary up to 15 degrees. Even a careless walk through the rows denoting incredible care for these plants. There is no irrigation and the production is controlled to achieve the highest quality from the vineyard: that gives strength to the plant. The buds are selected and spaced for better growth. The green grapes are thinned to allow the most beautiful and best sunny arriving in harvesting and thinning of the leaves before harvest allow a perfect maturation of the grapes.
The vineyard is protected from fungi and parasites through a few treatments with sulfur and copper. The well-ventilated area reduces the moisture and allows to avoid the growth of fungi. All this attention and meticulous care is the result of a family culture, based on respect and love for the land. The quality of the vineyards is also guaranteed by the knowledge of Vincenzo Cianfagna, specializing in agronomy, in charge of the vineyards in the first person. The goal is to bring in a cellar healthy grapes, suitable for traditional techniques, without any sophistication and without the fixed support of a winemaker, as our ancestors have done for centuries. The level of sulfites present in our wines is less than that allowed in organic farming.

 

 

 

Italian Authorities Expand Barolo’s Most Famous Vineyard

What’s in a name? A lot, when it’s the name of a vineyard. And when that vineyard is arguably the most historic in Barolo—Cannubi—there’s money, history and local pride at stake.

Italy’s Council of State has ruled that wines made from four vineyards neighboring Cannubi can be labeled Cannubi. The decision effectively enlarges Cannubi from 37 acres of vines to 84. The ruling has angered 11 producers who own parcels in the 37 acres and have been fighting to maintain the previous boundaries. But it’s a victory for one of Barolo’s larger and most historic wineries, Marchesi di Barolo.

“We are very surprised and saddened by the decision of the Council of State,” said Marta Rinaldi, whose family winery Giuseppe Rinaldi owns a parcel. “It is a clear choice in favor of the commercial needs of the company Marchesi di Barolo.”

No one is arguing about the historic value of the name Cannubi. The oldest record of it appearing on a wine label was 1752, before winemakers even began putting Barolo on labels. Located on a southeast-facing ridge just north of the village of Barolo, it captures morning sunshine, and Nebbiolo planted on it ripens even in challenging years. For centuries, Cannubi has been a signifier of quality, which is why wineries often wrote it on their labels even if the fruit came from the other vineyards on the ridge—Muscatel, Valletta, San Lorenzo and Boschis.

In 1995, as the appellation was delineating official vineyard boundaries, the commune of Barolo defined Cannubi as 37 acres on the heart of the ridge. But it also recommended that wines from the four neighbors, which have slightly different exposures and soils, be allowed to include Cannubi—Cannubi-Muscatel, etc. But in 2009, Ernesto Abbona, president of Marchesi di Barolo, challenged this rule, arguing that his winery and others had historically used grapes from the other vineyards in their Cannubi. Marchesi di Barolo had owned a large portion of Cannubi, but in 2008, a split among the owners led the group that held the vineyard to lease it to another winery. When the official vineyard boundaries were finally released in 2010, Cannubi had grown to 84 acres.

Eleven producers appealed, and a regional tribunal agreed with them, overturning the act. But on Oct. 3, Abbona won his appeal to the state council in Rome. “This ruling does justice to the work led by my family, which for decades has grown grapes and made Barolo produced from estate vineyards in Cannubi and was the architect of the promotion of this extraordinary hill,” Abbona told Italian media.

It’s unclear what further action other wineries can take. “All these producers who are upset, I understand,” said Giacomo Conterno, whose winery Poderi Aldo Conterno produces its own single-vineyard wines in nearby Bussia. “They have had generations on this land. To change and suddenly say all these differences no longer exist, there is one Cannubi, maybe it’s easier for marketing. But more than a century ago, they put these different names because people already understood the soil was similar but with plenty of little differences.”

“I think the customers lost,” said Luca Currado, of the Vietti winery and a member of the leadership committee of the regional consorzio, “because there are now Cannubi wines and secondary Cannubi wines, and now the customers will not be able to judge from the labels.”

The Best Italian Wine Routes: Piero Mancini Winery – Sardinia

Piero Mancini Winery offers an unforgettable experience for the senses, combining a passion for wine with the scenic beauty of the Gallura region, in an inviting atmosphere of rare beauty.

The Piero Mancini Winery is in one of the most beautiful places in Sardinia.

The winery extends beyond the historic valley of Balajana, near the town of Luogosanto, in the province of Olbia-Tempio in the Gallura region.

Valle di Balajana

The tasting offers six different wines from the Piero Mancini Winery, carefully chosen to ensure a high quality experience.

We would recommend three wines:

Vermentino di Gallura ManciniPrimo, DOCG

The golden soul of real Gallura, the mirror of its treasures, new horizons of refined taste. Mancini Primo, so the family has called this magnificent Vermentino di Gallura DOCG, dedicated to high level restaurant, because its quality is such as to place it at the top of the production of the Cantina delle Vigne di Piero Mancini.

Pale straw yellow with greenish hues, fruity, full-bodied with a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

Wine Vermentino di Gallura – CUCAIONE 2011 DOCG

This magnificent Vermentino, one of the masterpieces of Piero Mancini, was created to celebrate the charm of Gallura. It is a wine of elegant personality, fine and harmonious, and the taste is very balanced, with a good structure.

Straw yellow with greenish hues, typically aromatic and elegant, balanced, smooth, well structured.

Wine Falcale – Cannonau di Sardegna DOC 2009

A beautiful Cannonau, the pride of production Piero Mancini, whose name intentionally remind to the falco (hawk), the beautiful bird that fly high in the sky. A wine that stands above, which differs, that is fascinating. The best contribution to the finest Italian cuisine.

Ruby red with amber hues. Pleasant aroma, with hints of wild berries and ripe fruit. Dry, fruity, full-bodied, elegant, with an aftertaste of almond.

Feudi di Guagnano – A Story of Passion

La storia della Cantina Vinicola Feudi di Guagnano è incredibile. Una storia di passione per il vino e di apprezzamento dei vini con un senso di appartenenza e di identità. Si tratta di una storia di amicizia, l’amore per le viti dei loro antenati e una storia costruita sul duro lavoro, la passione e l’impegno a portare nel mondo un piccolo pezzo di Guagnano.

Locali della Cantina Vinicola Feudi di Guagnano

Stretta tra lo Ionio e l’Adriatico, la Puglia inizia la sua lunga storia di vinificazione grazie ai Greci antichi. Nei secoli si distingue l’uva Negroamaro che tende a produrre vini rustici, polverosi e con un elemento di dolce amaro che cottraddistingue veramente il territorio della Puglia. L’ambiente naturale è duro e richiede grande fatica, ma per fortuna questi vini sono un ottimo accompagnamento per una giornata di duro lavoro.

Vigne Feudi di Guagnano

I vini di Feudi di Guagnano sono caratterizzati dalla qualità, soprattutto in considerazione del poco tempo trascorso dalla prima vendemmia.

Puoi trovare i vini Feudi di Guagnano, con tutte le caratteristiche, cliccando qui, oppure dall’elenco:

• Vino Cupone Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva DOC 2007 – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Diecianni Verdeca Salento Bianco IGT – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Le Camarde Negramaro & Primitivo Salento IGT – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Nero di Velluto Negramaro Salento IGT – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Primitivo Salento IGT Rosso – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Rosarò Negramaro Rosè Salento IGT Rosso – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Salice Salentino Rosso DOC – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino Sciafì Chardonnay Salento Bianco IGT – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino TERRAMARE Negramaro Salento IGT Rosso – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino TERRAMARE Primitivo Salento IGT Rosso – Feudi di Guagnano
• Vino TERRAMARE Salento IGT Bianco – Feudi di Guagnano

The story of Feudi di Guagnano is a wonderful one. The type of story that resonates with all of us who share a passion for wine and the appreciation of wines with a sense of place and identity. It is a tale of friendship, love for the vines of their forefathers and a story built on hard work, passion and a commitment to bringing the world a little piece of Guagnano.

Setting out to restore the small vineyard holdings of retired wine makers around the town of Guagnano, five friends all sharing the same vinous philosophies, created Azienda Agricola Feudi di Guagnano, located in the heart of the Salice Salentino DOC zone. The first vintage was in fact 2002 and represented the achievement of something symbolic, a realisation of a dream that was conjured while sharing the wines of previous generations which dated back to the 60s and 70s.

Sandwiched between the Ionian and Adriatic seas, this small wine producing region has been here through the ages with the ancient Greeks possibly first introducing wine making to the area. Regardless of the exact origins of Puglia’s unclear wine history Negroamaro has been present since the birth of viticulture on the Salentine peninsula but translated literally, means black bitter, which sadly serves to cast a negative shadow over this extremely interesting variety. Granted, Negroamaro tends to produce rustic, dusty wines with a bitter sweet element to them but In this sense they truly represent the terroir of Puglia. The natural surroundings are harsh and require great toil but fortunately these wines are a great accompaniment to a day of hard work. High temperatures give high sugar content and thus just a touch of sweetness yet these are by no means sweet wines; they are dry, velvety wines with herbaceous and earthy moods.

Prosecco offers intriguing value in sparkling wine market

Long a favored aperitif in Italy, prosecco has caught on in the U.S. in a pretty big way. This is mostly good, as it gives consumers an inexpensive sparkling wine option. It also has helped to pry more people’s minds and mouths open when it comes to Italian wines in general.

Made in the Veneto region, the majority of prosecco comes from Conegliano and Valdobbiadene north of Treviso. The area encompassing these two towns is now called Prosecco Superiore, and it was awarded DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status with the 2009 vintage. Prosecco has two designated crus — Cartizze, long recognized as a top terroir, and the more recently distinguished Il Rive.

The grape now called glera was once known as prosecco, and the wine must account for at least 85 percent of it. The other 15 percent can be made from verdiso, bianchetta, perera and glera lunga, and in some cases pinot noir and chardonnay. Prosecco can be frizzante, a slightly effervescent version, or full-throttle spumante. On occasion, it is made into a still wine….

 

Prosecco offers intriguing value in sparkling wine market | Pamela S. Busch via @sfexaminer http://ow.ly/fVHGr