Appellation: IGT Lazio Rosso
Varietal: 100% Aleatico
Winemaking: Volcanic soil, 450 meters above seal level, 3400 vines per hectare, spurred cordon system, south facing. Less than 2 kilos of grapes per plant. Hand harvested in late September, 10 day maceration at 22 degrees Celsius temperature.Matured in stainless steel vats until March when it is bottled.
Alcohol: 14.0%
Bottle size: 750ml
Bottles produced: 4.500
Andrea Occhipinti fell in love with the vineyards of Gradoli while he was at the Agrarian University of Tuscia, so much so that they became the subject of his master thesis in 2004. Soon after graduating, Andrea was able to purchase 4 hectares of vineyards planted in the 1990’s. They are set at 450 meters above sea level (1500 feet) on the volcanic slopes of Lake Bolsena, the biggest volcanic lake in Europe. Situated just one hour north of Rome, the lake provides a unique microclimate that together with the particular terroir and Andrea’s objective to preserve and promote the local indigenous varietals, Aleatico and Grechetto Rosso, produce wines with the flavor of tradition and the effervescence of innovation.
Andrea is the first in Italy to experiment with a dry interpretation of the Aleatico grape, and his next project is to vinify Aleatico in white.
The vines are planted at a density of 3400/5000 per hectare and trained at spurred cordon system. The total production is 15.000 bottles.
