Cascina degli Ulivi

Cascina degli Ulivi or 'House of Olives' and it's owner Stefano Bellotti have built themselves quite a reputation in the world of Vin Naturel. Stefano began his path as a vigneron with only 1ha of organic parcels in 1977. The farm also had plantations of other agricutlural products such as cereals and vegetables, but he realised that these weren't thriving in the terroir and this shifted his focus to the vines. By 1984 Stefano was ahead of fashion, applying herb manure composts to the vines along with other biodynamic practices. Until his last journey to the Undying Lands in September 2018, he tended to 16ha of vines with the same love and devotion as his tiny 1ha back in the 70's. Luckily, a passionate young team of vignerons are lifting the legacy of Stefano, cultivating a huge variety of grapes: Moscato, Cortese, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Riesling, Verdea, Bosco, Timorassa, Moscatella, Barbera and Dolcetto. Gavi Filagnotti DOCG comes from a particular site of the estate’s best vines, growing on red limestone clay. The wine is made in large old oak casks of 30-50k litres. Also from the Filagnotti vineyard in Tassarolo comes their skin macerated 'A Demûa' from 100-year old vines.: Fermentation happens in oak vats with submerged skins for a month or so. After that, the must is separated and transferred back into the vats, where it will rest on the lees for the rest of the year. No SO2 is added at any point of the vinification, nor at bottling. Other cuvées such as their entry-level Semplicemente Rosso and Bianco are fermented in a combination of old barrels and stainless steel and aged 3-6 months in large barrels.