David Moore has made an interesting comment on Wine 2.0 re consumers and sulphite wines in the USA. Perhaps more organic wine producers should be moving to 0% sulphites or perhaps conventional wine producres should be moving to at least to the sulphite restrictions of organic wines?

Fasoli Gino (Veneto), also present at the Wine Pleasures International Organic Workshop  have two 0% sulphite wines available for export: BIANCO GARGANEGA “B” and ROSSO CORVINA “R”. Here’s some info on this Italian winery:

To fully understand what we are today, it is necessary to look to our ancestors.

In 1925, our grandfather Amadio was the pioneer of the farm. It was he who first planted vines and made wine from his own grapes and produced a good quality wine. At this time he used to sell his wine to the best taverns in cities such as: Verona, Vicenza and Padova, transporting it in small barrels on a horse-drawn cart.

Our father Gino, and his brother Gigi, built on their father’s experience building the reputation of our wine in other regions of Italy and abroad. Together, with the work of Amadio-Franco in 1966 and Natalino in 1971, this has been the foundation from which we have been able to grow.

Our first foray into organic cultivation came in 1980 and since 1984 all of our vineyards have become organic. In 1990 they were A.I.A.B approved.

The vineyards are situated in the lower Illasi valley near San Zeno di Colognola ai Colli and Illasi. These areas have a strong tradition of viticulture because of the nature of the land (partly clay and partly a mix of stones and sand) and the favourable microclimate: the wide, sunny valley is protected from the north by the lessini hills.

We are currently cultivating 20 hectars of vineyards divided into seven parts: Casetta, Cassòla, Creàri, Pessétta, Perantònie, Orgno and Sande. The soil type varies from one vineyard to the other, which has helped determine which varieties should be planted. In the clay soil there are 30 to 40 years-old Garganega vines, traditionally cultivated for the production of Soave wine.

Back in 1978 we planted Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the stony and sandy soils, adopting a system of vine training known as “pergola corta” and “cordon pruned” to improve aeration, reduce spoilage and thus improve ripening. This has allowed us to obtain wines of better structure, which are therefore more suitable for fermentation and barrel maturation.

The meticulous vinicultural practices include: cover crops; manuring with bovine dung; balanced pruning to guarantee a low yeld; pest control using natural products and predators and hand picking carried out at different times to select grapes at their optimum ripening point.

The vinification is undertaken with the use of modern technology whilst respecting the criteria for organic production. This involves: destemming; light pressing; must clearing by natural decanting through cooling filtration with fossil dust; fermentation at controlled temperatures  and fining using bentonite.

In this way we have, in the course of time, ensured that our wines reflect both regional and varietal characteristics in harmony with the surrounding environment.

 If you would like to contact Fasoli Gino please do so through the VINTESA Consortium web site. Better still come and join us in the Mediterranean town of Sitges in the International Organic Workshop