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Col Vetoraz
COL VETORAZ
“For us, growing vines on the highest point of Mount Cartizze is an honour”
Col Vetoraz lays on the very top of the homonymous hill next to the “Mont” of Cartizze in S. Stefano di Valdobbiadene.
We are on one of the highest spots in Cartizze, 400 metres above sea level, from where the sight can recognize the entire area, the hamlet “Fol” on the east side and the hamlet “Sacol” on the west side.
Miotto Family settled down in Col Vetoraz in 1838 and started growing vines (Valdobbiadene DOCG and Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG).
1838 Francesco Miotto’s ancestors settled on Col Vetoraz, 1918 due to its dominant position it became an Austro-Hungarian command base, 1980 Francesco Miotto to its fathers place after his premature death at the age of 29, this is when the naturally fermented “Con Fondo” bottles were first produced. 1993 is its first milestone in the DOCG area when Col Vetorez wins Gold Medal at Vinitaly for 5 years in a row. 2012 when the extra brut was born, the first bottle without residual sugar. Between 2013 & 2015 infrastructure investments helped to improve into a state of the art warehouse and an impressive wine tasting meeting room overlooking the Cartizze hills. Finally. in 2018, Col Vetores celebrated 25 years with activity, packed with commitment, satisfaction and awards.
PHILOSOPHY
Vines have been grown in the hills between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano for over eight hundred years. A wine’s history, especially if its origins are ancient, is intimately linked not only with the land that produces it but also with the men and women that have grown up with it. Soil, climate, wine, customs and traditions: these aspects, all together, make up what we refer to as “terroir”.
The hills of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano have been shaped and rendered graceful by man, who has, over the centuries, succeeded in creating an enchanting landscape: they are ethereally beautiful hills, producing exquisitely mellow wines. As recently as 2009, this centuries-old history suffered a major jolt, thanks to a decision based exclusively on financial motives: Prosecco is no longer the vine that – for eight hundred years – has found an ideal habitat in these hills, but has now become a denomination covering nine Provinces in the Veneto and Friuli.
These areas are devoid of tradition: here, cultivating vines has not been passed down from generation to generation thanks to the know-how of the elders, but rather has taken on a primarily industrial role. This has created a chaotic situation, where the mere distinction between “Prosecco” (the wine produced in the area created in 2009) and “Prosecco Superiore” (that made in the historic hilly zone between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano) is not sufficient order to convey a precise identity.
Today “Prosecco” has become a generalized term, with a real risk of making banal and cancelling out the age-old history and winemaking vocation of the hills of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. For this reason, we believe it is fundamental to begin a new, different type of communication, in which the wine’s territorial identity is extremely clear and unmistakable.
Col Vetoraz has, therefore, as from the 2017 vintage, decided to remove the word “Prosecco” from all of its labels and in all its communications media, using just the denomination “Valdobbiadene D.O.C.G” – our wines’ true and unique territorial identity.
TERRITORY
“Respect for an ancient and unique land”
The motherland of Valdobbiadene DOCG and Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG unwinds itself between the hills of Valdobbiadene, the overlooking mountains, an immense amphitheatre, shelter the area from the west winds.
The geological structure and the deep stratification, memory of ancient seas, are the origin of these “gentle” wines.
The Treviso foothills, in particular the hills that run from Valdobbiadene to Conegliano, have shown for centuries their nobility and vocation in the cultivation of the vine. Most of these hills emerged in the Tertiary era, formed by clayey limestone, yellow-bluish marl, and ashen sky-blue sandstone. The physical-chemical composition of these soils is the most suitable to give the character and aromas of the grape, especially if associated with high daytime and nighttime temperature range favoured by the nearby mountain.
The excellence of a unique territory in the glass.
A path that allows Col Vetoraz to settle every year on over 2,300,000 kg of vinified DOCG grapes, from which, thanks to a deep respect for the raw material, Nature, is selected the annual production of 1,250,000 bottles: 20% of the grapes come from their own vineyards, the remaining part is grown by 69 trusted winegrowers, chosen over the years from those who respect Col Vetoraz quality criteria and to whom is offered direct agronomic advice. The result is a production of Valdobbiadene Docg’s highest level that has helped Col Vetoraz to become one of the most authoritative companies of the whole denomination, obtaining considerable awards both on national and international scenery.
The absolute guarantee of excellence goes from the first to the last bottle of the vintage: Valdobbiadene Docg Superiore di Cartizze, Valdobbiadene Docg Dry Millesimato, Valdobbiadene Docg Extra Brut, Valdobbiadene Docg Extra Dry, Valdobbiadene Docg Brut represent a single line of production for sparkling wines, all of them placed in the same high-quality range.
The excellence of a unique territory in the glass.
“The only way to obtain the balance and the natural harmony that the vine gives us is following strictly a method that preserves the expressive integrity of the fruit”. It’s all resumed in these words by Loris Dall’Acqua, Col Vetoraz C.E.O. and oenologist, the philosophy of the wine company from Santo Stefano di Valdobbiadene (Treviso). Col Vetoraz every year follows the path marked by Nature, fully respecting the perfection with it gives birth to each grape of the prestigious sparkling wine. Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills, now officially UNESCO World Heritage Site, are excellent in themselves of undisputed uniqueness and immense cultural, historical, landscape value.
A method of production aiming to the highest quality, following the criteria of extreme respect confirms the company philosophy. This is combined with a quantitative aspect: the choice of having large volumes of winemaking, in order to make a careful selection of the best grapes from the slopes of the piedmont area, the most suitable for the cultivation of Valdobbiadene DOCG and where the harvest, in the absolute respect for the raw material, is performed strictly by hand and defined as heroic due to the extreme slope of the ground.
The severe technique of transforming grapes into wine followed by Col Vetoraz uses the best technology so as not to remove or add anything to what nature already offers through the bunch, in a virtuous circle that comes from Nature and go back to it. A method that has allowed the winery to become a reference point in the whole denomination for the excellence of its products, all strictly Valdobbiadene Docg.
“We collect a number of grapes clearly superior to our needs (30-35% more) – explains Loris Dall’Acqua – preferring the calcareous and siliceous soils of Miocene origin with the greatest characteristics of excellence for the production of quality grapes, to finally choose only the best. We ask our winegrowers – continues the oenologist – to embrace the company production principles to avoid any kind of addition to wine during the bottling process. We work exclusively with physical-mechanical cleaning, starting from the grapes pressing, avoiding any treatment that could alter the natural harmony of the wine. I am convinced in fact that elegance, harmony and balance are the key to the pleasantness of our sparkling wines”.
COL VETORAZ
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