“The best wine is the oldest, the best water is the newest.”  

William Blake

To preserve the organoleptic characteristics of our grape varieties and the freshness of our production, our younger single-varietal wines complete their refinement inside steel tanks of 52, 28 and 11 hl.

Concerning Ghemme, we consider ourselves traditional producers and for this purpose, in compliance with tradition, we chose not to use small casks but  large wooden barrels, from 20 to 30 hl. They are of Swiss manufacture, made of solid oak of the Vosges by the famous master cooper Kuferei Suppiger.

For Passito Valdenrico, both during fermentation and aging, barriques of roasted Oak wood that characterize its taste and smell are used instead.

Our production becomes wine directly in the cellar at n. 26, Via Interno Castello, where after a light passage through the destemmer press, shared by all types of grapes, it is poured into the fermentation vats.

Vinification changes depending on the type of wine to be obtained: in particular we tend to distinguish the vinification process of red wines from that of white wines and rosé wines.

White berried grapes are initially pressed (although sometimes this stage is skipped altogether) and subsequently squeezed with a low pressure pneumatic wine press (1 to 2 atmospheres).The fresh musts are then immediately clarified through nitrogen flotation.

Once this operation is completed, they are vinified at controlled temperature to avoid losing their aromas. Cold chain management plays a fundamental role in all of these stages and contributes to maintain the original aromatic range of the grapes as unaltered as possible.

The new wines are poured inside refrigerated and/or inside outdoor tanks where the cold temperature (either artificial or natural) will facilitate tartaric stabilization.

In fact, this stabilization occurs by keeping the must at about -4 ° C for prolonged periods.

 

From the white vinification of Nebbiolo grapes prematurely harvested we obtain rosé wines.

The process is almost identical to that used for white wines. A peculiarity of our rosé is a short period of cryo-maceration, in which the skins transfer part of their pigmentation, which causes the wine to assume its signature onion skin color.

Once clear, the must is poured into a CO2-protected atmosphere and injected with special yeasts capable of carrying out a slow, low-temperature fermentation. Must clearing and temperature control during fermentation allow for the protection of the peculiar aromas of the wine; remarkable among others its hints of honey.

As for white wines, (thermal) stabilization occurs naturally at about -4 °.

 

On the other hand, the grapes used for the production of red wines ferment without any intervention on temperature, for periods ranging from 8 to 16 days. During this time the wine undergoes on a daily basis repeated shuffles in the presence of air and delastages.

The fermentation of the red wines ends with a final soft pressing; the first batch pressed this way is then separated and added to first-pressing wine, while the remaining part is allocated to the production of other simple wines.

After this stage comes an increase in temperature (minimum 20 °) that encourages the natural initiation of the second (Malolactic) fermentation, thanks to the action of bacteria; this transforms then malic acid into lactic acid.

At this point, wine is biologically stable. Physical stabilization of the new reds takes place instead in winter, thanks to the natural cold temperatures.

At the end of this cycle, the new wine remains in the steel tanks until bottling, with the exception of wine “suitable to become” Ghemme DOCG or Ghemme Riserva DOCG; this one is transferred for aging in wooden barrels.

The production of Metodo Classico Zero Dosaggio and Passito Valdenrico wines follows a procedure that differs from the one used for the aforementioned wines.

In the case of spumante, some differences already emerge during the harvest, which is done ahead of the usual time to maintain the correct acidity and aromas in the grapes. After pressing the grapes, the base for spumante is obtained via clarification through nitrogen flotation, which is then followed by vinification at controlled temperature and stabilization at about -4 °.

The new base for spumante is then bottled using a crown cap, with the addition of froth and some sugar, so that the fermentation may take place directly in the bottles.

These, now containing what are called “noble” lees, rest for a period ranging from 18 to 60 months, before disgorgement takes place. This operation is carried out after a manual remuage by cooling the bottle, freezing its neck so that the wine remains inside, and expelling the lees. The bottles are then refilled to the top and corked, with the addition of a muselet.

To produce passito, the grapes are left to wither and mold inside small wooden boxes (called padelline) for a period of time ranging from 4 to 6 months, depending on the season.

Afterwards the grapes are softly pressed to obtain must, which then is clarified using a nitrogen flotation machine and placed to ferment in oakwood barrels for about 1 year.

Fresh grapes used to produce passito through this method yield less than 25% of their weight in wine.