Fresh red and berry fruits with rich bready notes from extended lees fermentation
The 2016 Rosé Col Fondo Frizzante takes bubble production in this area all the way back to its roots. Typically sparkling wines are made from the Glera grape to make Prosecco, and when using a red grape to make rosé, the name Prosecco is forfeited although the production methods can be the same. Here, 100% Raboso from the estate vines in the Piave Valley were used and underwent its vinification in traditional Method Champenois style. After the initial fermentation in steel, the wine is bottled with its lees under the typical crown cap enclosure, including no preservatives or sulfites. From here, the wine sees its secondary fermentation in bottle, but is never disgorged before release. This is where this wine takes its name, “Col Fondo,” where it is ‘on the lees.’ This pet nat style gives a wonderful creamy foam to the finished wine, shows a intense and lovely bread crust aroma, and a fresh and dry mouth full of fruit and character.
Farming: Organic
Vegan
The family of De Stefani dates back to the later half of the 1800’s, having created wines of the utmost quality since the beginning, and continuing today under the experience of the family’s 4th generation winemaker, Alessandro. The family began in Refrontolo, a small hilly village in between the two famous Prosecco towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, and more recently has accrued two other vineyards to combine for 40 hectares of total estate. With a complete dedication to as natural production as possible, the estate is organically farmed, they only rely on naturally occurring yeasts as well as never adding sulfur during vinification (since 2009), all while focusing on many varietals that they have found to create incredible results in their unique terrain. Thriving from the local clay soils, the wines of De Stefani are stunning, true to type, and richly complex.
Grape: 100% Raboso
Country: Italy
Region: Veneto
Veneto is Italy's most productive wine region in the north east. It stretches westerward to Lake Garda and northward to the Alps and the Austrian border. Within this region is the city of Venice, an important power int he wine trade of the Middle Ages, whose legacy has shaped some wines in Veneto and even elsewhere. Much of this regions wines are characterized by high volume, pleasant, easy drinking wines (think Pinot Grigio and Prosecco). However, small producers in the region provide exceptional and interesting wines through focusing on terroir rather than volume.
Tasting: Fresh red and berry fruits with rich bready notes from extended lees fermentation
Pairing: fried chicken, empanadas