As you have read above this year we have decided to plant a new Durella vineyard. I have been thinking about it for a long time and I was looking for the perfect soil, volcanic, 450 m.a.s.l., in the heart of the Doc area Lessini Durello.
I remember my grandfather, in a place called Brovia, had 3-4000 Durella vines and my father always told me it was a precious grape variety.
Very scented, generous and with strong acidity. My father used to use it together with Garganega grape variety in order to give a bit more freshness to the wine, that in the past he used to sell as cask wine. I also remember my other grandfather, who lived in San Pietro Mussolino, in the Northern part of the province of Vicenza, had some Durella vines and used to produce wine. It was very intense in colour, it looked like tea, and you had to grab yourself on the table in order to drink it because it was so acid and strong!
40 years ago some producers of the Durello area decided to produce sparkling wine so today the majority of the production is for sparkling wine. In my opinion champenoise method is the one that better expresses the typical characteristics of this grape variety.
In 2007 I began to produce sparkling wine with this wonderful grape and every single year I tried to improve some aspects. There are many steps in producing sparkling wines with champenoise method, and, little by little, I’m trying to always improve them in order to produce a wine with strong personality. For example, hear more than what happens with other grape varieties, the harvesting period is very important to start off on the right foot.
People always think that for a good champenoise method you need to harvest before the perfect maturation in order to maintain higher acidity and freshness level: not for Durella!
Durella hides its beauty in acidity, so I prefer to harvest it when it’s almost at right maturation, so I can give more aromas and balance to the wine, maintaining however a good acidity.
The wine will be less sharp, more round and complex and with great freshness. The process in winemaking is the same as for other wines, and lies in stainless steel tanks on its own fine lees until the end of February. Then I proceed with the tirage. After having bottled the wine, I position the bottles horizontally in a place a temperature of 9-10° C, so the fermentation starts slowly, the yeasts get used to the new temperature and, working a bit slower, the perlage will be fine and the aromas more intense.
In 20 days the temperature will rise up to 16/17°C in order to gradually finish the fermentation. The aging in the bottle on the yeasts at a temperature of 15°C lasts 4 years; in this long and slow period it’s better not to have any temperature jumps. The degourgement takes place in the coolest period of the year, in order to reduce the stress of this operation. By choice I decided not to add any other wines or spirits during the degourgement, so the wine remains the same after having lied on the yeasts.
I rediscovered this grape variety thanks to the love of my father for it, now I want to work with it with always greater attention so I can produce a wine that can be a perfect mirror of its soul.