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.

Created in 1972, the Altesino estate extends over a surface of 175 acres (90 of which vineyards) in the township of Montalcino. The estate consists of four different holdings: Altesino, Velona, Pianezzine, and Montosoli, and is headquartered in the eastern hills of the appellation, in the 15th century Altesi Palace, edified by the noble Tricerchi family. Here as well are the aging cellars and, below ground, the area where the grapes are fermented. Since 2002, the property, now as in the past directed by Claudio Basla, belongs to Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini, who purchased it as, historically, the most innovative estate of Montalcino. In its first thirty years of life it was, in fact, a forge for path-breaking ideas: the first to introduce the concept of cru to the territory, placing proudly on the labels the name of Montosoli, its finest vineyard, the first to experiment with small oak barrels in 1979, the first to create an estate grappa in 1977, beginning a period of collaboration with distiller Gioacchino Nannoni, the first to market futures of Brunello di Montalcino with the 1985 vintage, introducing certificates of future purchases for those who wished to reserve the bottles.
The largest part of the Altesino production comes from the fermentation of Sangiovese grapes, entirely on their own for the Brunello, the Rosso di Montalcino, and for Palazzo Altesi (which differentiates itself by special fermentation techniques, not used for the other wines). The Sangiovese, instead, is blended with Cabernet and Merlot for two other wines, the Rosso Altesino and the Alte di Altesi, less strictly tied to the typical character of the appellation. The pride of the estate, however, is the Brunello di Montalcino produced from the grapes of a vineyard of 12.5 acres in the northern part of the township, situated at an altitude of 1150 feet above sea level: this is the Brunello cru of the Montosoli vineyard, bottled only in the finest vintages (in other vintages it is blended with the other wines and used for the regular Brunello bottling). On different occasions the “Wine Spectator” has selected this wine as among the top 100 of the world.

San Felice’s involvement in the Montalcino zone goes back to the early 1980s. At that time, the area of Brunello was witnessing signifi cant activity, but the area had not yet reached the world-class level of quality that it enjoys today. Our own fi rst bottles of Brunello di Montalcino were released to the market on January 1, 1985. The TENUTA CAMPOGIOVANNI is located on the southern slope of the Montalcino hill, near San Angelo in Colle. This particular area exhibits a complex of soils that produce some of the fi nest-quality Brunellos. In addition to our 20 hectares vineyards, there are 18 hectares of olive trees, woods, and fi elds, for an overall total of 65 hectares. Three separate parcels comprise the vineyards, at an elevation of approximately 300 metres. Of the 20 hectares of vines, 14 are dedicated exclusively to Brunello, and the remainder to a Rosso di Montalcino. In 1998 some Pugnitello vines were also planted. Most of the vines of Sangiovese are planted at a density of over 7,000 per hectare, trained to spurred cordon. Campogiovanni production is strongly focused on BRUNELLO and ROSSO DI MONTALCINO. 1990 saw the fi rst production of a Riserva, entitled IL QUERCIONE, made from fruit rigorously selected from the vineyard of the same name. This wine is only made in exceptional years. Campogiovanni Brunello fully merits its reputation as one of the great wines of this area. It has won, in fact, some of the most prestigious Italian and international wine awards, so much so that the 1990 and 2006 vintages were rated at the 7th and 4th place in the Wine Spectator’s “Top100’s”.

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.

Castello di Querceto, for over a century, since long ago 1897, has belonged to the François family, of French origins, but in Tuscany since the 18th century when one of its members, a functionary of the house of the Hapsburgs of Lorrain, moved to Italy when the Grand Duchy came into their possession. The Castle is situated in the north-eastern part of Chianti Classico, in a small valley of the township of Greve in Chianti just a few miles from Florence; the vineyards and olive groves of the estate lie on the slopes of the valley at altitudes which range from 1300 to 1750 feet above sea level and are accordingly considered “high altitude”. The estate extends over 465 acres of property, 150 of which are planted to vines; the vineyards are located almost entirely around the castle and the estate headquarters, where, alongside the old estate buildings, a production unit of recent and modern construction has been erected with full respect for the tradition and the architectural style of the zone.
After two generations of activity, Alessandro François began an entirely new phase in the late 1970’s, one in which the estate was completely restructured with large investments involving both the viticulture and the transformation of the grapes into wine. Given the important expansion of the house in recent years, it was decided to plan for further development, a larger volume of production, and a rationalization of the entire production process.
Viticulture is conducted with an eye both to high quality grapes and to the ecological compatibility of cultivation practices. The philosophy of Querceto is based on the idea of maximizing character and personality through a thorough study of the characteristics of the single vineyard plots, with the aim of achieving all of the potential of the various grape varieties cultivated on the property. The most important offering is the Chianti Classico Riserva Il Picchio, 90% Sangiovese and the remaining part Canaiolo, a wine of notable structure and personality, very elegant in its impeccably Chianti style. It is an unmistakeably traditional wine, rich in noble tannins and a perfect match for red meat and game.

Situated at the outskirts of Castiglione Falletto in the Barolo appellation, on the Bricco Boschis hill, the Cavallotto estate extends over a surface of over 60 acres, 55 of which are planted to vineyards. The Cavallotto family are owner-cultivators for over five generations, and in 1948 brothers Olivio and Gildo Cavallotto were the first cultivators in the zone to commit themselves to the fermentation of their own grapes and the direct marketing of their own wines. Today it is Olivio’s children who run the property, using only the grapes of their own vineyards and taking maximum advantage of the many years of experience in the world of wine and the traditions of the family. The Cavallotto cellars are located amidst the vineyards of Bricco Boschis, on the eastern side, directly behind the old farmstead of the year 1800. In the central block, above ground, are located the large space for the fermentation of the grapes; here, the grapes are destemmed and pressed, then ferment and macerate in large stainless steel tanks with full control of the temperature. The aging period which follows for the Dolcetto, the Barbera, and the Barolo takes place in large casks of Slavonian oak located below the Bricco Boschis buildings in order to insure natural humidity and constant temperatures. The soil of Castiglione Falletto is particularly generous: it gives wines rich in alcohol, robust, and very long-lived. The geological characteristics of the various vineyard plots gives wines of different character in each and every parcel, though in a context of a constant search for maximum quality, the trademark of the estate. The informed use proper cellar techniques contributes to the production of important wines, first and foremost three different Barolo crus, all highly prized for their structure, ample aromas, and aging ability. Barolo Bricco Boschis, Barolo Riserva Bricco Boschis Vigna San Giuseppe, and Barolo Riserva Vignolo are considered among the top wines of Piedmont, award-winning bottles whose quality has been recognized and rewarded by a large part of the national and international wine press.
The range of estate wines, however, is a large one and includes many of the native grape varieties of Piedmont, from which Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d’Alba, Nebbiolo Langhe, Freisa Langhe, Grignolino Piemonte, Pinot Langhe, and Chardonnay Langhe are all produced.

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.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini belongs to an historic family with centuries-old ties to the vine and to wine. She inherited two estates from family, one in Montalcino and the other a few kilometres to the north, at Trequanda, in that magnificent area of Tuscany called “Le Crete” of Siena. Donatella has directed the estates since 1998 and has found a way to transform them, joining modern technology to tradition, with a feminine vision both of the winemaking art and the marketing of the wines; annual production is 150,000 bottles and the wines are distributed in 25 different countries of the world. The Casato Prime Donne estate is located in northern part of Montalcino, on hillsides which slope gently towards the Orcia river, an old farmhouse surrounded by close to sixty acres of vines planted principally to Sangiovese Grosso. The cantina is very suggestive and the spaces in which the casks and barriques for the aging of the Brunello di Montalcino have been placed are decorated with frescoes which recount the history of Montalcino. But the estate has an unusual feature, unlike any other in the world: in addition to the owner, all of the employees are women, including the oenologist-cellar master, and their collaborative work gives a feminine touch to the wines of Montalcino. The other estate, in Trequanda, is Il Colle. It has belong to the Colombini family since 1592. Over 55 acres of vineyards produce Chianti DOC and Orcia DOC wines and, in addition, cereals, olive oil, and truffles. Country tourism is an important activity as well; comfortable rooms and a restaurant with tasty traditional food. Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s major wine is unquestionably the Brunello di Montalcino Selezione Prime Donne, a DOCG offering. A wine produced only in high-level vintages and which, before being bottled, is judged and approved by a group of expert female tasters, among them Maureen Ashley, Astrid Schwarz, Daniela Scrobogna and Marina Thompson. Another unusual wine is Cenerentola, an Orcia DOC and a blend of Sangiovese and an old Tuscan variety named “foglia tonda” for its round leaf, a grape which seemed doomed to disappear until it was saved by the joint efforts of old cultivators and researchers. The Rosso di Montalcino, soft and immediately pleasurable, and the forthright Grappa di Brunello are not to be overlooked either. Donatella Cinelli Colombini has also served as city counsellor in Siena.

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.