Place: Emilia-Romagna, ITA
Variety: Pignoletto/Trebbiano Romagnolo
Farming: Organic
The producer
Perched 500masl the vineyards of this humble estate are protected from the icy winter winds by the Castello di Guiglia and cooled by the gentle breeze of the Panaro River in summer.
The vines stretch their roots into clay, sand and silt soils, a mix of Lambrusco Grasparossa, pignoletto, malbo gentile and, only recently discovered, an ancient clone of verdicchio unique to Guiglia.
The story of TerraQuilia began in 2004, but evolved rapidly with the swift success of their traditional sparklings refermented in bottle. These unadulterated, energetic wines garnered an overwhelmingly and surprisingly positive response from their customers, allowing the estate to pivot toward more substantial output.
The wine
This is a blend of two zippy-fresh white grapes, pignoletto and trebbiano romagnolo, fermented in stainless steel after a short, cold maceration then bottled still fermenting.
It's released undisgorged after fifteen months, that is, with the natural sediment from finishing fermentation in bottle. This is much more time than most col fondos are held back, producing a much more refined fizz than this category's reputation presumes.