Sur Lie Alpino 2019

It is in the Alpine city of Trento, in the geological and climatic heart of the mountain range Dolomites, right in northeastern Italy, that one finds Cantina Furlani, at some 720 meters above sea level. In this property (let’s say in passing that the Furlani family also has vineyards on the hills of Vigolana), terms like “”artisanal” and “traditional” still make a lot of sense to define the wines that are made there, for no other reason than the use of chemical products was never an agricultural option of the estate, which is run nowadays Matteo Furlani, the representative of the fourth generation of this family who in practically every aspects follow the viticultural practices inherited from their ancestors. In reality, Matteo has studied agronomy, not viticulture, but he learnt the crafting of wine from his grandfather.

He is certainly developing new techniques when it comes to the work in the vineyards, namely the introduction of biodynamic methodologies and preparations, but these novelties are above all an improvement of the tradition, i.e., a way the avant-garde has to embrace tradition. In the cellar, fermentation is made in cement tanks and glass demijohns. Control of temperature is eschewed, only indigenous yeasts are used, and no sulfur dioxide is added. In wintertime, it is normal for the glass demijohns and steel tanks to be placed outside in the snow, so that the sediment may drop naturally to the bottom of the containers.

Recently, a journalist asked Matteo what he does with the skins of the grapes after being separated from the must. With a smile in his face, he simply asked: “But, of course, I make grappa.”