Pievalta
The Pievalta estate is located in the municipality of Maiolati Spontini, in the Marche region, in the heart of the Castelli di Jesi. This area is famous for its small fortified medieval villages as well as for the production of wines made from the Verdicchio grape.
Silvano Brescianini, the manager of the Barone Pizzini winery (Franciacorta region), founded the Pievalta winery in 2002. Already at that time, he saw the great potential of the Verdicchio grape variety. Establishing and operating a vineyard outside its own appellation seemed to him the obvious and logical step to take.
He then turned to the young Milanese oenologist Alessandro Fenino who had previously helped him for a few years on this estate in Lombardy; he was the right man to set up a new winery, immediately setting himself to an in-depth analysis of the Verdicchio grape. Fenino had been cultivating the existing vineyards organically since 2003 - that is, since the beginning - the first certified vintage being that of 2006. As early as 2005, he also adopted biodynamic viticulture and in 2008, he presented the first certified Demeter vintage. Since 2018, all wines carry the certified label "Biodyvin" instead of Demeter.
White wines from Pievalta
from Pievalta
The estate extends over 26.5 hectares, 21.5 hectares of which are in Maiolati Spontini, around the winery. Maiolati Spontini is situated on the left bank of the river Esino. Wines from this side of the river are known for their minerality, freshness and fruitiness; many vines were planted there in the 1970s. Today, the vines are cultivated at a higher density and by applying modern vinification systems. Maiolati's soils consist mainly of clay and of limestone.
The other and smaller vineyard lies in the San Paolo di Jesi area, in the village of Follonica. Situated at high altitude, well aerated and known for its classic granite sandstone, the commune of Castelli di Jesi is an ideal place for the production of subtle wines.
In spite of the great operational challenges involved, almost all operations in the vineyards are carried out by hand. The work in the winery is always guided by the motto "As little intervention as possible in natural processes" to ensure that the characteristics of the grapes and those of the terroir stand out first and continue to develop.
Producer
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.
Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg
The first written evidence of Schloss Gobelsburg dates from 1074, but it was in 1171 that the Cistercian monks from the Zwettl monastery obtained the first vineyards at Heiligenstein and at Gaisberg in the Kamptal. Visitors entering the baroque-style complex built on a slight mound sense this tradition, this spirit, this experience accumulated over the centuries. The view takes in all the surroundings, from the village of Gobelsburg to the vine-covered hills of Heiligenstein. Inside, near the parish church where couples say yes for life, when the weather is pleasant, the pretty and romantic garden invites all to rest for a while.
Nyetimber
For the last quarter-century, England has played a very special role in the world of wines – an exotic in moist and chilly northern Europe.