The trees are 50 to 70 years old.
Clay mixed with pebbles.
Pressed without destemming.
From harvest to pressing in under an hour.
In order to maintain freshness, MLF will not be conducted.
Gavi has a total of 11 regions, of which Rovereto is the oldest and the area that produces the highest quality grapes.
This Rovereto area is known as Gavi's Grand Cru.
This area is home to Picollo Ernesto, a specialist winery that has been producing Gavi Cortese wine since the mid-1800s.
The owners are father Ernesto and son Gian Lorenzo.
It is a true family business run by just each of their wives and children.
Picollo Ernesto is located on the slopes of Rovereto, at an altitude of 250 to 300 meters, in one of the best vineyards in the village of Gavi.
All the fields are on gentle slopes.
Most of the grapes are from vines that are over 70 years old.
The grapes grown are all Cortese, and the fields are cultivated organically.
This allows the vines to be less affected by rainfall, remain healthy, and produce grapes of consistent quality every year.
In the past, the estate sold all of the grapes it grew and harvested to the nearby prestigious La Scolca, but in 1994 it began bottling the grapes under the Azienda Agricola label.
Recently, more and more Gavi cantinas have adopted enologos and winemakers are using barrels, but at Picollo, all fermentation and aging is done in stainless steel in order to preserve the individuality of the Cortese grapes.
Furthermore, they are true specialists who only pursue the quality of their specialty, Cortese, and do not produce any other grapes or other cuvées.