Cavalleri - Lombardia

A notarial deed from the period records that the Cavalleri family were recognized as the owners of land in the Erbusco area of Northern Italy as far back as 1450. A document uncovered during research carried out in 1905 to determine the rightful distribution of the estate of the recently deceased nobleman, Giuseppe Paolo Cavalleri, between his children, lawyers Attilio and Giovanni, makes reference to an already well-established winery, said to be one of the larger ones in the area at that time. Until 1967 - the year in which the 'D.O.C Franciacorta' appellation came into being - the red and white wines made by Cavalleri were sold unbottled or in demijohns. The implementation of the appellation regulations necessitated that the quality of wines labeled 'D.O.C. Franciacorta' reach a consistent qualitative standard, and so Cavalleri started to bottle and label the best of its production accordingly. Most of the wine being made by Cavalleri was still sold on site, to locals and restaurateurs operating in the area. It was at this time that the family-run winery adopted the more formal title Azienda Agricola Gian Paolo e Giovanni Cavalleri. Initially, Gian Paolo - with support from his son Giovanni - was responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, which, at that time, was located close to the family home, in what is now the Erbusco Municipal Headquarters. Together, father and son built a new cellar complex in 1980, situated in the center of the company's vineyards, just outside the town of Erbusco. Since then, it is Giovanni who has been running the business on his own, and he continues - with an unflagging sense of commitment - to breathe life into the business that has accompanied his family throughout the centuries. In 1985, Giovanni moved to Erbusco permanently, and for the last two decades he has been channeling all of his acumen into what is, for him, an overriding passion for wine and winemaking. Back in 1981, the workforce was bolstered by the arrival of Giovanni's daughter, Giulia, who has since worked in both administrative and sales roles within the company, and of Sales Director, Aldo Pagnoni, who to this day remains a driving force behind the company's constant improvements in quality and customer service. Shortly after graduating, in 1980, Pierluigi Calabria joined the winery. He is the current chief cellarperson and one of the company's most longstanding employees. Since the turn of the millennium, the company has also benefited from the expertise of Giampaolo Turra, who qualified as a wine technician at the University of Milan. The company's first wave of investment and development resulted in it becoming one of the leading wineries in Franciacorta, both in terms of the technology in the cellars and in terms of the planting techniques in the vineyards. The innovations included new presses for soft pressing, stainless-steel tanks and refrigerators for chilling must. In the vineyards, the old vines were removed and replaced by new clones of what is the most suitable vine given the pedoclimatic conditions of the area, Chardonnay, common denominator of all the different white wines and sparkling wines made by Cavalleri. Using grapes from the 1979 harvest, the winery produced its first 6,000 bottles of Champagne-method spumante. The range was expanded in 1982 with the addition of a Franciacorta, aged for a full two years on the yeasts, which, from the very first bottle, showed itself to be a sparkling wine that positively overflows with character. Cavalleri's dedication to improving the quality of the wines it produces has been influenced not just by advances in technology but also by the development of a whole new approach to winemaking, based around a drastic reduction of the per-hectare yields, together with an increase in the planting density, the avoidance of any chemicals during cultivation and the rigorous selection of the finest bunches of grapes during harvesting and subsequent pressing. By the mid-eighties, even though the new winery had only recently been completed, it became necessary to expand the facilities for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the quantity of spumante being produced had reached between 60,000 and 70,000 bottles per year. The need for more space was accentuated by the introduction of separate vinification processes for the different wines, and the ageing of all those wines in 110-liter barrels. Last but not least, it became essential to find new space to use as offices, tasting rooms and customer reception areas. Further expansions were eventually required, not so much to cope with increased production but more to allow for extra space in which to perform an ever more precise selection of the grapes being harvested, and to barrel- and bottle-age the wines for prolonged periods. The most recent project, completed in 2001, was, in fact, one of the most expensive and important the company has ever carried out, since it involved the construction of a 360m2 extension to the underground cellar complex. The expanded cellars offer sufficient space for us to stack up to 300,000 bottles sur lattes (on their sides) - these bottles will be essential to the implementation of planned future increases to the ageing period of the yeasts used in our Franciacorta D.O.C.G. Although still deliberately limited to artisanal levels of around 250,000 bottles per year in total, Cavalleri's production of Franciacorta D.O.C.G. sparkling wines, together with the red and white still wines it makes under the Terre di Franciacorta denomination, has helped to consolidate the winery's position in the Italian market. Cavalleri wines have also received considerable acclaim internationally.

Northern Italy, Italy

Via Provinciale, 96,

(0039) 030 7760217