producers visit

<p><strong><em>This visit with Vittorio Graziano took place in April, 2013.</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Maya Pedersen.</em></strong></p> <p>Visits like these are humbling reminders that so many of the wines we love are made by totally normal people. This guy right here?&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//7f/21/7f2103aea4870a0e5b9609ce3dc191e1.jpg" /></p> <p>Super chill.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <strong>ASIDE:</strong>&nbsp;Lisa lost her notepad and was taking notes with her phone, so don&#39;t get all judgy and accuse her of checking her emails while Vittorio was breaking it down.<br /> <br /> The only vines we visited were those on the immediate outskirts of the farm, which range from 10 to 40 years old.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//62/6f/626f44b0116c8958c623fefc20c9d6ac.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//61/8b/618bc7007d7e74ca6e3f237c95db220f.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//ac/e3/ace32dd6654e7c7e5fd3810dda599158.jpg" /><br /> <br /> These are planted at 6000 plants per&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="523">hectare</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> side by side and trained in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="335">cordon</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//99/07/99078c3514145c90fb82df1aca741cdf.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//7c/e1/7ce151bb60d68bf9a26ebe21b42a1f32.jpg" /></p> <p>One plant more or less produces the fruit for one bottle of wine. Five&nbsp;<glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> x 6000 plants= 30 000 bottles!<br /> <br /> Pointing to his very grassy vineyards, Vittorio jokingly exclaimed:<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;We don&#39;t use </em><glossary title="526"><em>herbicides</em></glossary><em>!&quot;&nbsp;</em></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//32/a3/32a3c1922fc839bb3854ca2a517ccfec.jpg" /></p> <p>No manure or <glossary title="442">fertilizers</glossary> are ever used in the vineyards, just herbs and planted legumes. On average, Vittorio only does three&nbsp;<glossary title="333">copper</glossary> <glossary title="328">treatments</glossary> a year. He was <glossary title="260">certified organic</glossary> for nine&nbsp;years, but dropped it because, in his own words:<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;They wanted money. They bust balls. I was sick of it&quot;.</em><br /> <br /> For the sake of <glossary title="1162">biodiversity</glossary> and to add complexity to his wines, Vittorio grows many varieties of ancient, <glossary title="1139">indigenous</glossary> grapes; amongst those are <glossary title="577">Lambrusco</glossary> di Grasparossa, <glossary title="621">Malbo Gentile</glossary> and two&nbsp;local <glossary title="1169">strains</glossary> of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1043">Trebbiano</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> There are five&nbsp;others, but he has no idea what their names are, only that he was able to source them from old <glossary title="329">contadinos</glossary> when he was starting. Unsurprisingly, this choice goes against the <glossary title="420">Emilia</glossary> <glossary title="">DOC</glossary>&#39;s obsession with mono<span class="zalup"><span><span>-</span><glossary title="1071">varietal</glossary> </span></span><span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottlings</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;This was a decision made in an office, not a field.&quot;</em><br /> <br /> Speaking of administrative brouhaha, Vittorio explained that only 2% of local producers still make&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="653">traditional</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Secondary Fermentation" title="938">bottle&nbsp;fermented</glossary>&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="577">Lambruscos</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> the rest opting to heavily <glossary title="270">chaptalize</glossary> and/or to&nbsp;<glossary title="272">charmat</glossary>&nbsp;it up.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <strong>HISTORY LESSON TIME:</strong>&nbsp;Did you know that the tradition of <glossary title="653">bottle&nbsp;fermented</glossary> <glossary title="577">Lambruscos</glossary> originates from&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary><span>?</span></span></span> Since there was always other stuff to do, the grapes were always <glossary title="521">harvested</glossary> last. In the winter, because there was even MORE other stuff to do, they would <glossary title="185">bottle</glossary> the wine unfinished. A natural, <glossary title="938">secondary fermentation</glossary> would take place, creating bubbles (and therefore&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="310">Co2</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> which acts as a conservative) e&nbsp;basta!<br /> <br /> Walking over to the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> pretty much the whole group ended up unintentionally being captured in indie rock album covers while checking out Vittorio&#39;s beautiful tractor from the 1950&#39;s. Here&#39;s the cover for my forthcoming album with Alex Miranda from our neo-soul project&nbsp;<em>Watch Tower.</em></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//36/9b/369b80a7e55db13dcfe5aa1a0a173acd.jpg" /><br /> <br /> And here&#39;s the cover for the&nbsp;<em>Mckenna, Dalton and Quinn Experience</em>&nbsp;(MDQE for short)&#39;s groove-heavy&nbsp;<em>A Day in The Life.</em></p> <p><br /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//3d/f7/3df7fd4a488de9671945534fb4a4c037.jpg" /></p> <p>Here&#39;s a picture of the tractor&#39;s solo project&nbsp;<em>Vroom!!!</em></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//91/e9/91e93a8d9f0c4c0699c09a1a255aa870.jpg" /></p> <p>Just like Vittorio&#39;s tractor, much of the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> consists of older equipment. Take, for example, this mechanical <glossary title="827">press</glossary> from the 1970&#39;s.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//2f/a2/2fa2b0cbde0c7a8bdc4991753f44339e.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//a6/85/a685725a9c310e1bc3d2a252d84297a8.jpg" /></p> <p>Or how about this manual <glossary title="393">disgorgement</glossary>/<glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary> system, where every bottle is&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="393">disgorged</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> topped and rebottled ONE BY ONE.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//c7/59/c759aa82de4c6713871479f74df0e458.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//3e/f6/3ef640b111d6d003436fde6f76e18db4.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//be/b6/beb6af586888b78f3ecebecdd064350e.jpg" /></p> <p>It&#39;s a lot of work, but Vittorio feels it&#39;s totally justified and worth the effort.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;</em><glossary title="272"><em>Charmat</em></glossary><em> takes away the characteristics of the wine. It is too much of a violent process. You don&#39;t end up with wine, you end up with a Schweppes drink.&quot;</em><br /> <br /> Everything <glossary title="441">ferments</glossary> in big <glossary title="445">fiberglass</glossary> containers, as Vittorio feels that <glossary title="986">stainless steel</glossary> don&#39;t give the wine enough air.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//12/bc/12bccb0e6a1ba9dfc12fbc561069ef7f.jpg" /><br /> <glossary title="739"></glossary></p> <p><glossary title="739">Old oak</glossary> <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary> are used to <glossary title="74">age</glossary> the still wines.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Vittorio proposed we taste the wines with lunch, and everyone agreed. Lo and behold the&nbsp;<em>&quot;kitchen of the single man&quot;</em>:</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//eb/50/eb503c54082a798560049898d4c73090.jpg" /></p> <p>Armed with just an old propane burner in a shopping cart and a makeshift grill, Vittorio banged out these delicious dough balls filled with lardo and freshly grated parmesan.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//e0/ce/e0ce171803354a7491f133df9866b6ec.jpg" /></p> <p>We also had a fresh omelette.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//74/df/74df0a390322fda5080f0e5d4cf71188.jpg" /></p> <p>And some ribs.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_26//d9/20/d920efe9913d99c8815f3e38d66ec4f8.jpg" /></p> <p>The wines are insanely delicious, and you better pounce on these when they get here in January. As far as <glossary title="">vinification</glossary> for the sparklings, grapes are <glossary title="378">destemmed</glossary> for whites and reds, and the wine is <glossary title="185">bottled</glossary> with 10g of sugar left. The <glossary title="938">re-fermentation</glossary> usually occurs within two to three months, at which point Vittorio <glossary title="843">racks</glossary> off the <glossary title="590">lees</glossary> and keeps the wine in <glossary title="986">stainless steel</glossary> until&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Temperatures must never go under 0&ordm;, because this would kill the remaining <glossary title="1128">yeasts</glossary> that trigger&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="938">refermentation</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> But don&#39;t go calling these <glossary title="653">Methode Ancestrale</glossary>&nbsp;around Vittorio!<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;</em><glossary title="653"><em>Ancestrale Method</em></glossary><em> is a flawed term for me, because man figured this out by accident. This is a natural </em><glossary title="938"><em>refermentation</em></glossary><em>, not something that man came up with to control. It is not a method, it a natural occurrence.&quot;</em><br /> <br /> Vittorio&#39;s first <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> was in 1982. He used to work as an administrative accountant. His father had a little farm for the family, but made a living selling furniture, and young Vittorio didn&#39;t like wine until he was 18.<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;I started drinking for a girl. That first time, I was drunk for a week! For love, you make sacrifices.&quot;&nbsp;</em><br /> <br /> As far as <glossary title="1103">viticultural</glossary> and winemaking knowledge, Vittorio has no formal training other than spending a lot of time with local&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="329">contadinos</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;Farmers will always be way more informed than any professor of </em><glossary title="1103"><em>viticulture</em></glossary><em>.&quot;</em></p>