Author: Terre di Ger

Meetings and Discussion on Wine Ethics and Sustainability

March is the month of events and wine fairs. Meetings come one after the other and every discussion is interesting enough to be followed with attention.

It is now clear that climate change and sustainability has become two aspects that need to be taken very seriously.

There aren’t many solutions available to this problem, but resistant grape varieties help us in finding the right compromise.

We prefer mantaining our winery on the path of natural breedings instead of trying TEA or OGM research, fantasizing about being able to build stronger resistance out of traditional grapevine varieties.

As wine makers, we want to emerge thanks to the wines we are able to present to the public. We are not interested in keeping bonds at all costs with a market that is afraid of change. Presenting innovations is something that teases the consumer’s curiosity and will bring great satisfaction in the long run.

Tipicità Marche Festival, 11-13 Marzo, Fermo

These and other issues have been discussed at the “Tipicità Marche Festival”. We have been invited to discuss whether PIWI wines are an established reality or just perfect strangers.

In the discussion panel, the technical presentation by agronomist Dr Giuseppe Camilli (AMAP Marche) has been extremely interesting. Dr Camilli grows and manages an experimental wineyard, with many resistant grapevine varieties, and has obtained authorization from Marche Region’s Agriculture Bureau for 20 more varieties that have already adapted very well to the local territory.

Dr Camilli has highlighted that these new varieties will be able to give a huge contribution to local wineries. Mr Robert Spinazze also answered to questions about these future wines, bringing our winery’s experience as an example.

6 PIWI wines by Terre di Ger were available for tasting at the event, we offered technical descriptions but also discussed marketing and communication strategies that are useful in order to bring our wines to new consumers.

The whole event has been supervised by AIS Marche and Stefano Isidori.

Dr Camilli’s research is available at this link.

Tipicità Marche Festival, 11-13 Marzo, Fermo

Wine in Venice Celebrates Excellent Wine-making

2023 has just started with an extremely important wine event. The Wine in Venice exhibition celebrated the best 20 wineries from 20 Italian Regions, picked according to their sustainability and innovation practices.

Terre di Ger was the sole winery from Friuli Venezia Giulia selected for the event. Wine-tasting, masterclasses and talks were held in the Palazzo della Scuola Grande di Santa Maria di Misericordia, between the 28th and 30th of January, three days dedicated to developing wine culture and knowledge.   

Innovation, Ethics, Sustainability, these are three cornerstones that help us coping with the present. They are necessary to bring about change and put mankind and the environment at the centre of our action. Wine and earth, wine and territory, wine and mankind, these are all core values that help our wine-making in a healthy and honest way.    

Terre di Ger was present at the event, presenting its wines obtained from resistant grape varieties that require far less spraying in the field. A recent study conducted in Friuli has shown that fewer phytosanitary treatments – beside the clear benefits both for echosystems and consumers – also correspond to 38% less CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. 

We have started this new endeavour with the aim of standing out from the highly industrialized viticulture of our region and heading towards a long-term wine-making alternative that is harder to achieve, but far more gratifying. The Wine in Venice exhibition has been the celebration of all these brave wineries that, just like us, have emerged around Italy. 

One masterclass, in particular, has been really interesting, the title was “Wineyard Italia, the Best Examples in the North”. Our Caliere Rosso 2020 has been the only PIWI wine cited in the masterclass and it has been described as “a ripened cherry juice…”. PIWI wines have now emerged as top quality wines, dispelling all doubts and critiques coming from those who are still afraid of these promising alternatives to traditional wines. 

A round of applause goes to all the organizers and professionals that took part in the event.

PIWI Wines Event in Venice

Venice Events, Maria Botter and Angela Merati held the first national event dedicated to PIWI wines in Venice last weekend. 30 wineries growing resistant grape varieties participated in the event, representing the many wine makers that have been investing on this safe wine-making, beyond organic farming.

The event took place in the prestigious Carlton Hotel on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Our winery was present, representing Friuli Venezia Giulia, with three wines: Feltro Bianco 2021 (Mach Foundation Best Wine Award 2022), Caliere Rosso 2020 (Mach Foundation Best Wine Award 2022), and Limine 2020 our exclusive white wine.

Many wine enthusiasts, journalists and wine experts joined the event. A big hug goes to Luca Gonzato as well, probably the best ambassador for this kind of wines with his blog full of precious information and educational material. Two masterclass was held during the event, both presented by FISAR sommeliers, and our Caliere Rosso has been selected as the only red wine.

A discussion panel also took place, at the presence of PIWI International President Alexander Morandel and Regional PIWI Italia presidents. The promotion of PIWI Italia to represent the movement at the national level has been discussed, along with cooperation with other European Nations, towards shared goals such as a sustainable wine-making and the recognition of these grape varieties.

The success of the event will push future events next year both in Cortina d’Ampezzo and in Milan.

So we will see you there soon!

Limine Bianco Terre di Ger.

Rufini: The New Organic Sparkling Wine

Rufini used to be the mark pressed on bricks produced in the old brick-kilns located between Oderzo and Pravisdomini, in the area where our vineyards are located.

After obtaining organic certification we have created an organic wine produced from resistant grape varieties that require extremely low chemicals for protection. Only a few treatments per year allow us to grow a healthy wineyard and therefore produce a healthier wine. 

So here is Rufini, a fresh sparkling white wine which suits a wide public made of friendly and curious consumers that are willing to drink healthier and sustainable wines. This is a modern and innovative wine, obtained from grapes of Sauvigner Gris and Bronner, the two resistant white grape varieties grown in Veneto.

In this wine, crispy and fresh grapes of good acidity are paired with warmer and full bodied Bronner grapes. For this new experience we have chosen a long charmat method. 

Request the technical sheet and find more info, contact us!

Terre di Ger at La Vuelta

Running from Saturday 14 August 2021 to Sunday 5 September 2021, La Vuelta 2021 will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3.417,7 km.

  • 8 flat stages (2 with high-altitude finales)
  • 4 hilly stages
  • 7 mountain stages
  • 2 individual time-trial stages
  • 2 rest days

This is the detailed program for the riders among the sunny landscapes and the wild north.

Starting from Burgos, moving to the South, the stunning coast between Alicante and Rincon de la Vitoria. Then slowly the stages go to the centre of Spain to Cordoba.

The show starts on the north with the legendary Lagos de Covadonga as the topic of the third week.

The final stage takes place at Santiago de Compostela, this year the end is far from Madrid.

We have our BORA-hansgrohe team selection: Benedetti Cesare, Gamper Patrick, Großschartner Felix,  Laas Martin, Meeus Jordi, Palzer Toni, Schachmann Max, Zwiehoff Bem. For the GC Felix could confirm the positive results of last year, while for the sprints Jordi will play his cards. Max is free to win stages.

We say welcome to Toni Palzer, just his first three weeks race, maybe he will climb as he’s been doing in winter on the mountains.

Good luck and fingers crossed to all of them.

We support with massive enthusiasm and in cooperation with BORA Cooking System we introduce the Vuelta Labels special edition.

Pre-order, contact us!

Tour de France 2021

Tour de France 2021 is starting from Britanny’s most well known city of Brest on June 26. Britanny is also known as la Terre de Vèlo, where cycling is the most popular leisure activity.

3414,4 Km from the windy North-East across the whole France down to Tignes on the Alpes, to Caracassonne and Andorra, on the Pyrénées up to the final stage on the Champs Elysée in Paris.

The yellow Grande Boucle will keep us company through exicitng days untill July 18. We wish good luck to our very own Peter Sagan, Wilko Kelderman, Emanuel Buchmann, Ide Schelling, Patrick Konrad, Daniel Oss, Nils Politt and Lukas Pöstlberger.

We are going to celebrate every day with our special edition BORA-Tour de France bottles and we will make a toast to our riders’ great undertakings.

2021 Wine Bottling: Interesting News!

We are now completing the new vintages’ bottling. As always, after a long wait, the work which has been done in the field and in the winery has now been brought to perfection during the wine-bottling stage. 

The white “Classics” and Piwi Wines obtained from resistant grape varieties are now ready to go. These are fresh and intense wines on the nose, rounded and pleasant on the palate. Such characteristics have emerged thanks to the vintage’s climate, especially after the sunny summer days and the considerable thermal gaps. Harvest has been carried on between the end of August and the first weeks of September. 

After destemming and free-run soft pressing, fermentation has been carried on in steel tanks. After a few months of aging, wine-bottling has been conducted recently.

The Red Classics and Piwi Wines from resistant grape varieties have finally been bottled. After prolonged aging, multiple pumping-overs and delestages, 2019 vintage is now in the bottle. 2019 was a complicated vintage, especially in spring, due to low temperatures and heavy rain. But the warmer and dry months of July and August boosted grape maturation toward a good quality harvest. 

In general, these red wines are fruity, slightly tannic, with undergrowth hints and ripen red fruit aftertaste. Astringent notes are quite evident in Cabernet Franc and Refosco while Merlot stands out for its elegance. 

2021’s new entry, to be added to Arconi and Limine, is a Piwi white wine obtained from restant grape varieties. 

Feltro Bianco

An elegant and innovative wine, with fruity apple and white fruit scents combined with pleasant spicy notes. Fresh, medium bodied wine with pronounced acidity and soft hay aftertaste. Ideal as aperitif, it can be paired with vegetable dishes and fish carpaccio.

Terre di Ger new e-Shop starts with Giro d’Italia

This year’s Giro d’Italia is back to its natural springtime collocation in May’s colorful and warmer days.

We are back too! And we are supporting our partners BORA-hansgrohe: the squad is ready to start, with Peter Sagan as the team captain and all the Italian team members including Matteo Fabbro, Daniel Oss, Giovanni Aleotti and Cesare Benedetti.

Great News!

This year we are also launching our brand-new e-commerce website, featuring many labels designed in cooperation with  BORA Cooking System and their best Chefs!

All subscribers to Terre di Ger’s newsletter will get 10% discount on all “Bora Edition” products until 30 May 2021.

Follow us on our social media platforms to get fresh news about the next three weeks of Giro d’Italia. There will be also a special contest and a take-over with the team during the Cortina stage, riding across our vineyards and our winery.

The first 5 subscribers with a minimum order of 70 € will be awarded with the beautiful photo book Boys’n’ Bikes.

Terre di Ger in the Dolomites

Our new, fully organic vineyards are taking shape in Feltre, in the Dolomites. After the Pinot Noir vineyard, we are now completing our farm with a new Solaris vineyard, the most famous PIWI variety suitable for mountain climate. Solaris kissed by the sun isPIWI International’s slogan. On San Fermo hill, in the village of Villaga, the sun shines and warms the whole farm’s 4 ha since early morning.

Solaris vines are vigorous, strong, and suitable to mountain climate. The vineyard planting layout is 2,80X1,20 m. The wine obtained from this grape variety is characterized by refined flower and fruit scent, tropical fruit and citrus aromas enriched by a pleasant acidity. 

We picked Solaris grape variety in order to complete our selection of resistant grape varieties ranging from white grape Bronner, Sauvigner Gris, Soreli, Sauvignon Kretos and  Sauvignon Rythos to red grape Merlot Khorus and Merlot Kanthus, Cabernet Eidos and Cabernet Prior.

Pinot Noir from the Dolomites is the most elegant and noble wine which could not be missing from our wine farm.  It is as if the sun kissing Solaris grapes went through Pinot Noir’s colour, whose clearnes is the most distinctive feature. The wine’s aromas include vegetable scents, mint and dill, red fruits such as cherry and strawberry. 

Step by step we will be telling you about flowering, ripening and harvest.

From good care for the vineyards a good wine is born: grapevine pruning at Terre di Ger’s

Grapevine pruning is the most ‘engaging’ phase in the grapevine’s life cycle, when both past experience and creativity are combined together. 

The selection of vine shoots and spurs for the coming year, the training system, the amount of production and the expected grape quality…. this is the time of the year when the most important decisions must be taken.

These are cold and short days, but very busy days indeed. Life is starting again from here, after a few months of rest during which the vineyard has restored itself. This process is known as “agostamento”, a perpetual and constant becoming: spurs lignify and become shoots, shoots will give birth to new buds which in turn will become fruitful sprouts and so on.

Grapevine-pruning ends right before the so called weeping of the vine. It is as if grapevines are urging time now. That is why pruning represents the most important and evocative time of the year. 

Each grapevine variety and each wineyard have their own distinctive traits. In our farm, the most used training system is Guyot (the double Guyot, typical in the Friuli area). The most vigorous grapevines are trained after the Sylvoz system, the classical permanent cordon with renewed arches.

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