Ca' del Bosco - winery in Franciacorta Lombardy - great italian sparkling wines from Franciacorta - The best Franciacorta wines

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The enchanting Ca' del Bosco story began in the mid-1960s when, in Erbusco, Franciacorta, Annamaria Clementi Zanella bought a little house on a hill, locally known as "Ca' del bosc" and surrounded by dense chestnut woods. The Ca' del Bosco fairytale is written in its wines, in the extensive weave of its vineyards, in the success dreamt of, desired and achieved by its author.

Maurizio Zanella saw in Franciacorta the land that would generate the finest fruits, both in still wines and in premium bubblies: his winery was the first and best expression of the qualitative potential of this wine territory.

A position reached thanks to the enthusiasm and passion of Maurizio Zanella who in the early 1970s became conscious of and followed his artistic vocation, becoming a leader in the Italian wine renaissance and turning a house in a chestnut wood into a vanguard winery.

The splendid Ca' del Bosco tales began from this: from a dream, a fairytale born to last through time.

The origins of the name Franciacorta are amiably bandied about in anecdotes and tales, ancient annals and folklore.But it is from Franzacurta (deriving from the Latin franchae curtes, a region exempt from paying tribute) that it took its present-day name.

What counts most, however, are its roots, remote in time. Credentials earned through longstanding wine traditions, the strength of ideas, enterprising farmers and bold entrepreneurs. One of the first regions to get D.O.C. status, in long-ago 1967, Franciacorta quickly gained renown for the products of its land and the commitment shown by everyone investing resources and ideas in quality enology.

New energies, new impetus, new enthusiasm. New generations, impassioned and innovative, drawn by the great international success that these splendid bubblies have obtained. In 1995 Franciacorta was given D.O.C.G. (Denomination of Origin Controlled and Guaranteed) status, a significant testimonial to its winemakers' continuing commitment to excellent work and to further improving the quality of Franciacorta wines.

Because saying Franciacorta today means proudly and confidently declaring a great love for wine and for the cultivation and culture of a dream, a mark of destiny.

Vineyards

In 1979 Maurizio Zanella planted the first five rows of vineyard having 10,000 vines per hectare (2.5 acres) and in Franciacorta initiated a type of grape-growing at the time considered rash and revolutionary: very dense, with minimal distance between the vines and extreme selectiveness.

And this was only the beginning of a route that Franciacorta then ambitiously undertook: distinguishing itself with the severest production regulations in terms of selectivity and qualitative rules. In addition there was Ca' del Bosco's fervent desire, right from the start, to make not only bubblies from its 370 acres of vineyards in Franciacorta but also still reds and whites.

The decision to undertake this project in a territory fairly new to wine made it possible to choose the finest hillside properties, and Ca' del Bosco now has vineyards more than 40 years old. It was also decided to separately vinify the grapes from different vineyards, thereby respecting the different terroirs, and to blend the wines only in the final refining stage.

The territory's natural wine vocation gives each grape variety its highest expression. And to respectfully protect this vocation, Ca' del Bosco vineyards are tended with methods having very low environmental impact, with minimal fertilization and strictly of the organic type.

 

• Cuveè Prestige
• Cuveè Prestige Rosè
• Brut Millesimato
• Dosage Zèr Millesimato
• Satèn
• Annamaria Clementi
• Curtefranca Rosso
• Pinèro
• Maurizio Zannella
• Carmenero
• Ilmerlot
• Curtefranca Bianco
• Chardonnay