The history of Carlo Caramel's company began in 1979, exactly 40 years ago, when his father Mario, who already worked in the wine sector as a merchant, decided to produce Prosecco in Valdobbiadene. "At the time there were two categories of producers," recalls Carlo; "Those who pressed grapes and turned it into wine, that is winemakers, and those who bought wine and turned it into sparkling wine, that is the sparkling wine producers. My father had the intuition of follow the entire production process: following the entire supply chain he rightly believed that he could have a higher quality product; began to buy grapes, to vinify it, then to sparkle it and then to bottle it: it was a half revolution, received with skepticism. I remember that people gave my father's business a life expectancy of six months; plus he came from outside and his wines cost almost twice as much as others. Fortunately in those years, people began to approach wine in a different way, looking for quality ".

The purchase of the first Canevel vineyard dates back to 1994, 15 hectares in the area of ​​Refrontolo, with clayey soil rich in minerals. "Here we can make wines with less scents but more structure," explains Carlo. The Valdobbiadene Dosage Zero Vigneto del Faè, one of the few Prosecco Superiore without sugar residue, is also born from a particularly suitable parcel of Refrontolo. "It is a new product for the territory but, at the same time, it is part of tradition of wines with the bottom, dry and common in the area, before the advent of sparkling in autoclave ”.

With its scents of flowers, almond and rennet apple and the slender and refreshing palate is a Prosecco Superiore very suitable for the table. Carlo recommends it with the fish cichéti, the small bocconcini of the Venetian aperitif: "Try it with polenta croutons with cod, sarda in saòr, folpetti, ovetto or peppers with anchovy and mixed fritturina" .

Why now: it is a fresh and low-alcohol wine that goes well with fish recipes.

As did: after the vinification of the glera grape, the foaming takes place in autoclave with the Charmat method.

To combine with: seafood first courses, cod, savory pies with vegetables, fish and vegetable risottos, mixed fry.

Serve it at: 8 ° C.

Price: 12 euros.

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Going along the SS38, which leads from Switzerland to Lake Como, one cannot help but be enchanted by the spectacle of the Valtellina vineyards. Thousands of kilometers of dry stone walls welcome and contain the Nebbiolo grape plants, here called chiavennasca, clinging to the sides of the mountains and exposed in full South: this work by peasant engineering, developed in Roman times, has characterized the valley for over two thousand years. Walking through the vineyards is the easiest way to understand what the expression “heroic viticulture": The slopes are extreme, the works must be carried out almost always without the help of the machines, the heat in summer is hellish (not for nothing one of the sub-regions of Valtellina is called Inferno).

The most important and representative cellar of the denomination is undoubtedly the Nino Negri, inaugurated in 1897, enlarged in the sixties by Nino's son, Carlo Negri, and today owned by the Italian Wine Group. Guided for 40 years by the Trentino oenologist Casimiro Maule, "inventor" of the iconic 5-star Sfrusat wine, it is today run by the Piedmontese Danilo Drocco and produces about 800,000 bottles a year. To the 31 hectares of property there are added 120 worked by historical contributors, who go on to compose a truly impressive heritage of vineyards for the territory. But if you had to choose just one place to represent the company, you would have to reach the sub-area of Valgella, in the easternmost sector of the denomination, where the Fracia vineyard, the first purchased by the Negri family. It is a real one 10 hectare cru (of which 7 are from Nino Negri), facing south, at an altitude ranging from 350 to 500 meters. As in the rest of the Valtellina, the strong temperature changes between day and night and between winter and summer and the constant action of the Foehn alpine wind ensure the optimal environment for the maturation of the chiavennasca grape, which is harvested here in October, when it reaches a slight over-ripeness. With these grapes the Valtellina Superiore Vigneto Fracia is produced, one of the most elegant and territorial reds of Nino Negri: drunk in youth, it is able to seduce with its aromas ranging from violet to rose, to plum, enlivened by spicy notes that recall the clove, but if you have time to let it mature in the cellar for a few years, you will find yourself uncorking a magnificent wine with grace and complexity.

Why now: it is the best time to walk in the mountains and then take a break in a trattoria, sipping a local red, with robust alpine dishes.

As did: after the vinification, lasting 8 days, the wine made a passage in steel, then it was aged in second passage barriques for about 20 months. He rested another 6 months in bottle before being put on the market.

To combine with: pizzoccheri, pork loin with prunes, seasoned cheeses, grilled meats, game.

Serve it at: 16 ° C.

Price: 28 euros.

ninonegri.it

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