100% Spergola. Organic/natural. No added sulfur. Primary fermentation in vats. Skin maceration for 3 days. Natural secondary fermentation in bottle to give a frizzante style. It is unfiltered so may it throw sediment.
C� de Noci was established in 1993 by the brothers Giovanni and Alberto Masini on their family's estate near Reggio Emilia. For more than thirty years, the family has had a walnut forest on the property (hence the name 'Walnut Farm'). In the 700's the province of Emilia Romagna was known to have over 100 different grape varieties. The Masinis wanted to plant local traditional grapes that were slowly disappearing, among them the Spergola, Malbo Gentile and Montericco grapes.
The vines are planted in 5 hectares of rocky limestone soil along the Crostolo river. The dryness, and general poorness of the soils help give these grapes all their powerful flavor and minerality. All the vines were planted in the 90's and, therefore are fairly young. They are cultivated using certified organic methods and only minimal treatments of natural copper sulfate and decoctions from plant or animal sources are used.
The grapes are hand-harvested in small caskets at maximum ripeness, with healthy skins, then destemmed and left in vats in the cool outside air overnight for extraction. The caps are punched down in the morning and the maceration on the skins continues for a long period, for some wines more than a week. The grapes are then pressed on a manual press and then racked into wood barrels or neutral vats. The wines are aged without filtration or fining.
