article

<p><em>Originally posted on August 6th, 2018.</em></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Jun_12//4c/1a/4c1ad7512cb345f997f4d683403b271e.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>From Kevin McKenna:</strong><br /> <br /> I spent a day with Ernesto<glossary title="458">&nbsp;</glossary>on my own, free of a &quot;group&quot; last November. I had not done that in a while. We travelled all over the area looking at the vines he was working, some new vines he&#39;d taken on and talking about his plans for Costadil&agrave;. We went to a spot that Costadil&agrave; had just purchased,<font color="#7b143e"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></font>a beautiful&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1133">plot&nbsp;</glossary></span></span>that would be planted this spring. It was neither an insignificant amount of land or an insignificant amount of work, but it seemed like a&nbsp;<em>fait accompli</em>&nbsp;when Ernesto spoke passionately about the steps he had already set in motion, the vision of what it would be like, and the complete joy the whole enterprise was bringing him. He was infectious. We said &quot;See ya!&quot; and I was excited for the future.<br /> <br /> Of course, a lot of it was swagger. Ernesto was very, very clever with the swagger, almost mischievously so... like he was baiting you. You always felt a deep undercurrent of intelligence and confidence that drew you in, but sometimes it was, like, ...c&#39; mon, man, seriously?! But the fact is, he always came through on his craft. I remember one time going to see him years ago in the spring around the time of <glossary title="1105">Vinitaly</glossary>; we had not been working together long then. The weather and temperatures that spring were more than a bit precocious and the plants had forced out their <glossary title="1166">buds</glossary> quite early. We went to the 280slm vineyard, I clearly recall, and it was a mess. The <glossary title="834">pruning</glossary> not only had not been finished, it had not even been started. Not even the first&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="834">pruning</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> I&#39;d really never seen anything like it - long canes from last <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> already sprouting leaves. Ernesto was like &quot;OOPS! I&#39;ve got to get to this, but don&#39;t worry, don&#39;t worry, it&#39;s fine&quot; Needless to say, I was quite preoccupied for those grapes and that wine for that&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> But he was right, the wine was even a step up that year, not to say this was the reason, but certainly it did not affect the quality negatively.<br /> <br /> This spring, I had been told that there were health issues. He did not make his annual appearance in <glossary title="104">Angers</glossary> in February. Then we spoke, and he was on the mend. I called him in June and we talked - I started to worry because I hadn&#39;t heard from him. In November we had talked about significantly more quantity of wine for the US in 2018 and I needed to confirm that for my own piece of mind; he sounded great &ndash; positive and upbeat about the wines that were coming. We had gotten our first orders for the new wines finally packed and shipped (they arrive shortly). Last week I, frankly, had a little panic attack looking at the small amount of the first round, imagining it gone in a few weeks of its arrival. We&#39;ve been in contact all last week and up through this weekend. And then I received an email from Martina telling me to call her at 11:00 PM last night. Because of the time difference, I did not want to call at 5AM in Italy so I waited, suspicious and worried. Of course, in our current media age, email and internet confirmed my worst fears this morning as soon as I woke.<br /> <br /> &quot;There is no word in Italian for privacy&quot; is oft-cited apocrypha. It&#39;s true in the sense of the word: &quot;Free from being observed or disturbed by other people; free from public attention.&quot; It strangely rings true in my experience of living and interacting with Italians for 15 years now. They tend to live openly and in close quarters, physically and emotionally. True, that is, except in one realm &ndash; health and matters of diagnosis. The Italians are reluctant and even circumspect in discussing their health. I am not talking about a cold or a sprained wrist or some physical anomaly that is temporary, about which they will actually kvetch endlessly. It&#39;s the grave diagnoses and uncertain prognoses that are rarely ever fully disclosed or discussed except to immediate family and a closed circle of friends. There is a hushed,&nbsp;<em>omert&aacute;</em>&nbsp;kind of privacy surrounding grave illness. It&#39;s considered a private matter.<br /> <br /> No judgements from me, and in fact, I&#39;m all for it. It&#39;s the last bastion of respectable privacy these days. However, it&#39;s a bit tough for folks like me, those who tend to blur the divide between business and friendship, commerce and professional encouragement&hellip;We visit, we share ideas, we break bread, and we enjoy each other&#39;s company and points of view. We advise; we argue; we collaborate. We get so involved in the day to day life, it&#39;s somewhat with a sense of helplessness to be left out of the bigger picture of L-I-F-E. I still am not sure of Ernesto&#39;s illness last year and this spring. I don&#39;t know what the cause of death was. I guess I will find out. Does it matter?<br /> <br /> What I do know is that we do not get to share ideas, taste together, break bread, enjoy each other&#39;s company, argue, get infected by each other&#39;s visions, encourage each other... Dammit.<br /> <br /> I saw this picture on the Internet (<strong>ed note: Kevin is referring to the photo above</strong>). I shamelessly grabbed it (so we may have to take it down at some point). I love it, because it&#39;s Ernesto in one of the elements in which I will always remember him &ndash; Vini dei Vignaioli in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="459">Fornovo di Taro</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> He&#39;s there every year with a massive madness of bottles on his table and a crowd in front of him. His hands are in constant motion, always seemingly in the spooky blur captured in the photo&hellip;It&#39;s like a skilled Three-Card-Monty dealer at work.<br /> <br /> My heavy heart goes out to Ernesto&#39;s wife and children, his associates and friends. Nothing&#39;s fair, I guess, but this is one for the records.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Jun_12//74/b5/74b582ca5380f1bbb0eb520980f9a8ca.jpeg" /></p> <p><strong>From Jules Dressner:</strong></p> <p>Waking up to the news of Ernesto&#39;s passing has made for a contemplative morning. I&#39;d heard he was sick, but had no idea it had gotten to this point. His big, inviting smile makes me do the same as I pen these words. He had such a vibrant, can&#39;t-stop, won&#39;t-stop energy that I fully expected to see him again, having gotten better, bouncing around from person to person while pouring wines at his perpetually packed table.<br /> <br /> My most vivid memory of Ernesto has us shuffling down the cold February streets of Boston during his only visit to the US. We&#39;d just finished a big dinner at Peach Farm. Amongst huge lobsters and live eels brought to our table in slop buckets for approval, he discovered an American wine lover&#39;s tradition: bringing a dizzying array of bottles to a BYOB Chinese restaurant. Hopped up on good wine and MSG, he told me how grateful he was for us organizing his trip, how much of a pleasure it had been meeting all of the incredible people at the Big Glou in NYC and the Boston tasting.<br /> <br /> It&#39;s not a surprise customers were excited: Costadil&agrave; has a huge following. And while most will never have gotten the chance to meet Ernesto, they share intimate, personal connections with the wines. I have no doubt that the news of his passing will affect many of you who read this&nbsp;much like a favorite musician. Know that the energy and the <em>joie de vivre</em> in every sip embodies its creator beautifully.<br /> <br /> I write this from Oslo, where I am visiting my friends Hally and Rachel. A few years ago I&#39;d set them up on a visit with Ernesto, where he showed them every vineyard and had dinner with them. It was such a great experience that they asked if he could make a custom label for their wedding, pictured below.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Jun_12//a5/c6/a5c66899000aa478b506b6e11841da47.jpeg" /></p> <p>We&#39;ll be drinking a bottle of &quot;450&quot; tonight in your memory Ernesto. Though we did not see each other often, I&#39;m grateful that your visit in 2016 permitted us to get to know each other better. I almost missed that flight to Boston with you. I skipped the security line and sprinted to the gate, arriving a minute before the doors closed. Breathless but on board, my stress evaporated the second I spotted your big smile.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2020_Jun_12//dd/03/dd03808df3559a3d79bc1345b7d1451b.jpg" /></p>

producers visit

<p><em>This visit at Costadil&agrave; took place in April, 2012.</em></p> <p><em>Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Lauren Feldman, Shawn Mead and Ian Becker.</em></p> <p>From our hotel in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="327">Conegliano</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> we were immediately greeted by Ernesto Cattel, the brainchild of Costadil&agrave;.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//95/18/951802cc03bc1ca997aedc93af98e25c.jpg" /><br /> <br /> He easily recognized us since we were the only obnoxious, loud Americans screaming in English.</p> <p>Ernesto founded Costadil&agrave;&nbsp;in&nbsp;2006 and produced his first wine in 2007. The Costadil&agrave; project is the combined effort of Ernesto, Mauro Lorenzon (who owns the famous Osteria Mascareta in <glossary title="1076">Venice</glossary>), their <glossary title="">oenologist </glossary>Leonello (didn&#39;t catch his last name) and a few silent partners/investors; it&#39;s truly a labor of love, since all three currently have full time careers. The goal is to valorize and rejuvenate the rich agricultural traditions of&nbsp;<glossary title="1015">Tarzo&nbsp;</glossary>by reintroducing natural farming -however small the scale- to the region. The scope of the project goes well beyond wine, and emphasizes&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary><span>:</span></span></span> the long term goal is to have vines, fruits, vegetables, cereals and livestock coexist on the same <glossary title="1133">plots</glossary> of land. They hope that by creating this example, they can have a model farm for the region, so other farmers who are trapped in <glossary title="671">monoculture&nbsp;</glossary>can see the way out. Completing this cycle, the produce grown from Costadil&agrave; land is then used and sold in local businesses, such as Osteria la Muda where we had dinner.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//df/5b/df5be5a62179b73a205a05617a591d9c.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Nestled in the little mountain village of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="296">Cison di Valmarino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Osteria la Muda is one of the oldest restaurants in Italy, dating back to the 1470! When the last owner decided to sell the space, Ernesto and six&nbsp;other partners didn&#39;t hesitate to remodel and keep this landmark alive. They are currently touching up the upstairs and planning to open an&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="79">agriturismo</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Also, the place is open till 1am almost every night.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The next morning, it was time to visit the first of many vineyard sites.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//68/a0/68a0139e147870d807781683dcd3eeab.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Our first stop was a completely isolated <glossary title="1133">plot&nbsp;</glossary>only accessible by a single dirt road. Tucked away in the mountains, this little area has a rather interesting history: up until the early 1970&#39;s vines had been grown here, but when the owner retired no one wanted them and the land became abandoned. It was then taken over by a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28641035@N06/2921909878/" target="_blank">German hippie&nbsp;commune</a>. They eventually left, and nothing really happened until Ernesto saw the <glossary title="">terroir&#39;s </glossary>potential and decided to replant vines two years ago. These vines are coming from six&nbsp;different&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span> <glossary title="304">clones</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> all in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="941">selection massale</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and are a mix of the four traditional <glossary title="830">prosecco&nbsp;</glossary>grapes &nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span>(<glossary title="494">Glera</glossary><span>,</span></span></span>&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="830">Prosecco</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="1141">Bianchietta&nbsp;</glossary>and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1080">Verdizo</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but more on that later). The soil is composed of <glossary title="301">clay&nbsp;</glossary>with a <glossary title="632">marl&nbsp;</glossary><glossary title="991">subsoil&nbsp;</glossary>at 15-20 meters.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//01/05/010591f303ea8b1ac0c5b16adc1f05fc.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Ernesto is replanting the vines exactly where they were originally located in the 1970&#39;s.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//72/f9/72f96c4dcb6fadadc691e8aab93612ca.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Everything at Costadil&agrave; is farmed&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span> <glossary title="746">organically</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Ernesto, who has never studied <glossary title="78">agriculture</glossary> or&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="422">oenology</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> explained how he came to this decision.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//12/6a/126a92f77654f2ad362a411395f3b733.jpg" /></p> <p>&quot;Working <glossary title="746">organically</glossary> and not manipulating nature is much more favorable in the long term. <glossary title="331">Chemical agriculture</glossary> seems beneficial in the short term, because you get instant results. But those quicker, easier results have repercussions. For example, if you use a&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="526">herbicide</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> in the short term you&#39;ve solved your grass problem. But then the soils have less life and micro-diversity, so <glossary title="1129">yields</glossary> suffer. So you use a <glossary title="279">chemical</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="442">fertilizer</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and now your <glossary title="1129">yield</glossary> problem is solved. But then your soils are even weaker and the vines, now lacking a proper immune system, become prone to <glossary title="">fungal illness</glossary> and insects. So now you have to use <glossary title="1142">pesticides</glossary> and large quantities of <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> to protect the vines. And even then, the vines become so over-exploited and ill that they can only live for about 25 years before they need to be ripped out and replanted. It&#39;s a vicious cycle that traps the farmer in continuing to use <glossary title="279">chemicals</glossary> if he wants to keep his business going.&quot;<br /> <br /> The site is also host to this old house that Ernesto and the gang are in the process of converting to an <glossary title="79">agriturismo</glossary> and osteria that would serve only Costadil&agrave; produce.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//90/47/90479594be795972f765058e26887181.jpg" /><br /> <br /> It&#39;s fully equipped with the coolest sun clock ever.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//c4/62/c462867963f7afef1dd340482b992bc2.jpg" /><br /> <br /> For those of you familiar with the Costadil&agrave; wines, you already know that each <glossary title="363">cuv&eacute;e</glossary> is named by the <glossary title="419">elevation</glossary> of the site. We got to check out the &quot;280&quot; vineyard, and our final stop was the &quot;450&quot;.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_19//51/45/514517fb0e717b5e7e3476c7bb8679fe.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The &quot;450&quot; is a 3.5 <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> that is completely isolated, featuring <glossary title="266">chalk</glossary> soil. It&#39;s all planted in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="494">Glera</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> If you&#39;ve never heard of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span> <glossary title="494">Glera</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="1141">Bianchietta</glossary> and <glossary title="1080">Verdizo</glossary> as grapes used for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="830">Prosecco</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> you&#39;re not alone. These grapes, along with the famous&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="830">Prosecco</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> used to be widespread in the area, often <glossary title="168">blended</glossary> together to make the region&#39;s famous sparkling wine. But in an all too common scenario, farmers began to realize how much more prolific and high <glossary title="1129">yielding</glossary> the <glossary title="830">Prosecco</glossary> grape was, so they began tearing out their remaining vines to replant the more productive&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1071">varietal</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> As far as the wines, they are <glossary title="87">fermented</glossary> with <glossary title="538">native yeasts</glossary> until completely&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="405">dry</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> then <glossary title="185">bottled</glossary> with <glossary title="700">must</glossary> made from <glossary title="765">passito</glossary> grapes they dry themselves in the attic of the farm for a secondary&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="87">fermentation</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> No <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> is used at any point in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The wines are crisp, fresh, expressive and each <glossary title="363">cuv&eacute;e</glossary> successfully expresses its&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Ernesto cites Loris of <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/costepiane/">Casa Coste Piane</a> as a big inspiration for making a quality wine in a region that has succumbed to the pitfalls of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="539">industrialization</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br /> <br /> &quot;Loris is a sculptor! We just shape rocks!&quot;</p>

harvest report

<p><br /> <strong>November 16th, 2023:</strong></p> <p>We see 2023 as a good year despite having less production than usual. The vineyard for the Costadila Rosso, <glossary term="Cabernet Sauvignon" title="217">Cabernet</glossary> and <glossary term="Merlot" title="650">Merlot</glossary> on the banks of the &nbsp;Piave river, is the area that suffered most due to the early, constant rains. In fact, we lost almost everything there.</p> <p>The vineyards on the hills also suffered but much less. Frankly we are happy with what we were able to&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and not stressed because 2022 was an abundant&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p>For Ombretta, we have some good <glossary term="Verduzzo" title="1345">Verduzzo</glossary> in the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> but no red, as it suffered the same fate as the Costadila Rosso.&nbsp;</p> <p>For Pedescastello, it will be a quiet year of rest by choice. Alex has completed several <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary> and trials over the years, with his small 2023 crop he will calm down for a while (I can&#39;t complain!)</p> <p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/ae/f6/aef6ced5ea174d12f816e825a265e985.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/dc/1b/dc1b9d31dfde896f2c7200f8c5a217a3.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/a2/fe/a2fee6f97fec1a0ca6cdc8848ef05a2a.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/92/d5/92d5acdc7b108e73ec381f00b49786a8.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/0a/42/0a42b482b3acccd1e01bcbc652e3b911.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/c0/0d/c00d65aa9cdfdfdbf138bcafb2b223ed.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//989/11/a3/11a3c8f421bb8152426f21a9f882ea75.jpg" /></p>