producer profile

<p>Fattoria Mani di Luna was born in 2012 as the joint effort of three long-time friends, Simone, Rocco and Alessandro (Alessandro and Rocco played in a band together for years and Rocco and Simone were classmates in Perugia studying agronomy). Their shared love of nature and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Agriculture" title="78">agriculture</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> coupled with a desire to rejuvenate the soil and vines through <glossary term="Organic" title="746">organic</glossary> and <glossary term="Biodynamic" title="160">biodynamic</glossary> practices, is the driving force behind the project. The vines are <glossary term="Organic Certification" title="260">certified</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Organic" title="746">organic</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but the friends make use of <glossary term="Biodynamic" title="160">biodynamic</glossary> preparations,&nbsp;<glossary term="Compost" title="323">composts</glossary> and adhere to the lunar cycles in <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and production. In their eyes, <glossary term="Biodynamic" title="160">biodynamics</glossary> allows for the vineyard to express itself better. The healthy grapes are imprinted with the natural rhythms of a growing season,&nbsp;which prepares them for &ldquo;good&rdquo;&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermentations</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This allows Simone, Rocco and Alessandro to eschew significant manipulation of the grapes in the winery.</p> <p>The <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> is composed of 35 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> (7.5 planted to vine) located in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Torgiano" title="1329">Torgiano</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> an area of Italy that can trace its grape growing traditions to the ancient Etruscans. The property that the friends acquired has history in the region. Prior to their revival of the land, it was owned by the famed Lungarotti family. Some of the vines are planted on the flats near the confluence of the Chiascio River with the Tiber. The remainder are on the hills overlooking the winery at an altitude between 200 and 400 meters. The soil is largely composed of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary>&nbsp;with <glossary term="Sandstone" title="910">sandstone</glossary> and <glossary term="Calcareous" title="222">calcareous</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Marl" title="632">marl</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sandy</glossary> soil is essential for maintaining low <glossary term="PH" title="783">PH</glossary> and high <glossary term="Acidity" title="71">acidity</glossary> even when the grapes reach higher sugar levels.</p> <p>Everything is&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hand Harvesting" title="520">harvested by hand</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Most of the grapes are <glossary term="De-stemming" title="378">destemmed</glossary> by hand to better protect the integrity of the fruit. Keeping with the traditional methods, most of the grapes are <glossary term="Foot-Treading" title="458">foot-tread</glossary> and all the wines see significant <glossary term="Lees" title="590">lees</glossary> contact with regular&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Battonage" title="147">b&acirc;tonnage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Everything is done by hand with great care. <glossary term="Sulfites" title="993">Sulfur</glossary> is only added if it is absolutely necessary.&nbsp;</p>