March 22, 2012 0 comments
Tenuta Grillo, Guido & Renato Zampaglione, Piemonte
The Tenuta Grillo estate is situated in Piemonte on a dry, chalky-sandy plateau 350 metres above sea level. Guido and Igiea have decided to produce wines that strongly express the terroirs, the character of the grapes and the single harvest.
“My father’s family was traditionally committed to grain farming and they produced wine only for their own use. Whereas my mother’s family owned a small winery where I learned what to avoid in the future. It was really an important experience!!! It was only during my work placement at “La Stoppa” on the “colli piacentini” that I finally had the chance to learn the essentials. While working at “La Stoppa” I began loving the aging wines. I then decided to become a grape grower as I saw the possibility to link my heritage with my passion.
My philosophy stems from a practical farmer vision. Our life is short, we have the chance of experiencing only one harvest per year, often in different weather conditions. That’s why we can learn very slowly and I am sure there are no short-cuts. Therefore, if we want to improve – and we have to improve -we need to look at the grape growers generations who have managed step by step to make wine a more and more interesting and complex product.
With regards to the way we work, our major commitment is in the vineyard. The starting point is to plant the right grapes in the right place – which is a difficult challenge.
Secondly, the least intervention the better, which means paying daily attention to every change as far as the vineyard and the climate are concerned. We give great importance to the timing of the harvest and to the selection of the right grapes – 60 percent of our grapes are sold.
As far as the vinication process is concerned, we believe in very long maceration (30/40 days). The reason lies in the fact that the richest part in all fruits is in the skin or close to it. In this way we protect our wines without adding any chemicals (only extremely limited amounts of sulphur are used, usually less
than half the organic limit allowed). We go through long refinement processes in big barrels in order to provide stability and complexity to the wine. In the end we are very keen on a vinification which respects and preserves the character of the grapes and the single harvest.”
The wines are suitable for keeping for many years.
Importer: Les Caves de Pyrene