Grower Website Borgoluce Region: Italy - Veneto

“…not far from the so called river Piave….we grant and donate…a land with goats, vineyards, meadows, grazing lands, woods, willows, stables, shores, banks, mills, fishing, hills, valleys, plantations, waters and courses of rivers, forests…”

More than one thousand years ago, in A.D. 958 or 959, the Italian King Berengario II gave to Rambaldo, ancestor of the Collalto family, the area called Corte Lovadina. Written in Latin the words above are the description of the content of this donation. The Collalto family still owns this and the surrounding lands,

Just 45 miles due north of Venice, the Collalto estate stretches from the hills of Susegana to the plains of Santa Lucia di Piave and as far as the municipality of Pieve di Soligo. Its 3,200 acres are home to animals such as horses, cattle, swine and sheep, with arable fields and hills marked by woodlands, castles, vineyards, agritourism and farmhouses.

The signs of history, culture and nature co-exist with farming practices that fully respect what is a centuries-long tradition passed down by the Collato family. Ninni and Caterina di Collalto, together with their mother Trinidad and Caterina’s husband, Lodovico Giustiniani, carry on the family traditions of overseeing a company diverse in agriculture. The company philosophy is firmly rooted in sustainable farming methods. This means limiting environmental impact and reducing pesticides. It means creating energy through the use of renewable sources. It means protecting the countryside, preserving it, improving it and revering it.

Environmental responsibility pervades the work carried out on the farm and takes shape in the use of renewable sources for the production of agri-energy. Fresh from the fields and farms come produce that is unique in its authenticity and traceability, such as meats, salamis, flours, and cheeses.

WINEMAKER
The story of Borgoluce’s winemaker, Elisa Confortin, is a heartwarming tale rooted on the estate. Elisa’s father, Luigi, has tended the estate’s vineyards since 1973. Elisa was born in 1975 and the Collalto estate is where she grew up. After graduating from Scuola Enologica G.B. Cerletti, Italy’s oldest and most famous school for enology, she returned to her roots and became the winemaker for Borgoluce.

On top of that, she married one of her childhood friends, Alessandro Samogin, who also grew up on the estate. To add to the story, Alessandro is Borgoluce’s international marketing manager. Elisa and Alessandro have two children, live on the estate, love to tend their vegetable garden and cook up feasts for family and friends. It would be hard to find a more rooted and romantic story than this. Don’t you agree?

VINEYARDS
Farmland has been given over to vineyards for the production of Borgoluce wines and sparkling wines. The current surface area under vine is approximately 160 acres owned in the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG region with vineyards situated in the hills between Susegana and Collalto. Denominazione di origine controllata (DOCG) status was awarded the region in 2010.

Borgoluce only vinifies its own grapes and all of their wines come solely from their vineyards. Their goal is to produce some of the finest Prosecco in Italy. The Sorting Table offers several Borgoluce Prosecco:

• Rive di Collalto Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG Extra Brut
• Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut
• “Lampo” Prosecco Treviso DOC Brut
• Gaiante Prosecco Brut Rosé DOC
• Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut Nature Sui Lieviti

The Borgoluce Proseccos are made from select estate grapes, harvested early and fermented in low-temperature tanks to enhance delicacy and tanginess.

Lampo is a proprietary name for their Prosecco using grapes from the Treviso DOC appellation and Valdobbiadene DOCG. Lampo targets a somewhat lower price point in the market than the other two sparkling wines.

The title “Superiore” comes from the fact that the vine cultivation environment is located in some particularly difficult areas. The hills have steep slopes. The conformation of the land is an integral part of the product’s identity and name. Borgoluce vines are situated on the sunny side of the hills, therefore south-southeast facing with an altitude between 150 feet and 1500 feet above sea level. The climate of the entire Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG area is mild and while rainfall is plenty, it is concentrated in autumn and spring. The soils on the hilly part of the estate are mainly calcareous and clay in nature, ideal for cultivating vines. The different environmental factors, such as the soil, gradient, climate, sun exposure and altitude, give rise to the delicate sensory nuances of the wines.

At Borgoluce they protect their agricultural products from diseases with a low impact process.

Fertilization is by organic matter produced by their animals and great care is taken to respect and maintain biodiversity of the environment in and around the estate.

WINERY
Borgoluce is found in Susegana in the province of Treviso, in the heart of the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G area, just a few miles north of Venice.