Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
In 1962, 19 vine growers from San Marzano, whose families had farmed the land for generations, combined their efforts to establish ‘Cantine San Marzano’. Through the decades, this cooperative has grown significantly, attracting over 1,200 top-quality vine growers. Using modern, technologically advanced vinification techniques, they produce elegant wines that pay homage to ancient Apulian wine traditions. The fusion of time-honoured tradition, passion, and contemporary techniques enables this winery to produce wines with distinctive varietal and regional characteristics that reflect the local terroir. In 2022, San Marzano was awarded the ‘Cooperative Winery of the Year Award’ by Gambero Rosso.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
The vines are grown in the heart of the Salento region in Puglia. The vineyard is situated at 100 metres above sea level, where the vines benefit from high average daily temperatures, low rainfall, and significant diurnal temperature differences. Maritime breezes ensure the vines are well ventilated, healthy and dry. The warm weather during the ripening period, provides excellent conditions for the grapes to accumulate good sugar levels and reach optimum maturity, while the cool nights retain natural, balancing acidity and encourage expressive aromatics. The soils are mixed and calcareous, which helps to accentuate the aromatics and freshness in the grapes. The vines are Guyot trained, which enables the vines to produce the optimum yield in order to retain a good acidity level. Additionally, the grapes are harvested earlier than usual, during the beginning to middle of August, to encourage the preservation of acidity levels; good acidity levels is an essential attribute for quality sparkling wine. The fruit is hand-picked early in the morning, into small baskets to retain the integrity of the bunches and aromatics. The varieties used in this wine include predominantly Chardonnay, along with native Italian white grape varieties such as Malvasia Bianca and Fiano Minutolo, which impart the distinctive Italian flair to this fresh sparkling wine.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The grapes were very gently pressed, and only the free-run juice was selected for this wine. Fermentation took place with carefully selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks at temperatures maintained around 16°C, preserving the freshness and fruity aromatics. The secondary fermentation, to produce the delicate mousse, took place in an autoclave, as per the Charmat method. The wine rested in the autoclave for one month, on the lees, imparting texture.

OUR TASTING NOTE:
A crisp, refreshing sparkling wine with a fine mousse and lifted aromas of white peach, elderflower and delicate hints of sage. Beautifully balanced, with a charming and zesty finish.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Chardonnay 80%, Other Varieties 20%.