The “Pergola Canavesana” or “Pergola di Caluso” has a flat top and a height of between 180 and 200 cm. The average vine layout is four metres by two metres, resulting in a plant density of 1300 vines per hectare. Traditional pruning is known as “three-pointed”, with three canes, each bearing ten buds at the end. There is a spur, a fruit cane, a two-year-old fruit cane and a third fruit cane on a three-year-old branch. This system means that all the main operations in the vineyard, pruning, green pruning and harvesting, must be done by hand.
BACKGROUND
The Cieck winery is located in San Giorgio Canavese, Piedmont, between the towns of Turin and Ivrea. The 13 hectares of vineyards are almost all Erbaluce, an ancient white grape variety native to the Canavese district. The rest are also native varieties: Nebbiolo, Barbera, Neretto and Freisa. What makes this area special is the use of the “pergola” vine training system, which creates large canopies in the vineyard. The estate was established in 1985, just a few kilometres from San Giorgio, in Aglié. Initially, it was just for fun. The intention was to become a small producer of sparkling wine. Remo, a typewriter designer for Olivetti and the son of farmers, travelled to France to learn how to make sparkling wine. In 1985, he set up the estate with just a few hectares of vineyard and vinified his first harvest: just over 2,500 bottles of Erbaluce Metodo Classico. It was released for sale in 1987. This was the debut of the Cieck estate, named after the old farmhouse in Aglié where it all began. Since then, the estate has moved to the locality of Castagnola, in San Giorgio Canavese.
Three people are the heart of the winery:
Domenico Caretto is the agronomist, and he takes care of the vineyards and the cellar;
Lia Falconieri handles administration, the commercial side of things, and communication;
Remo Falconieri, the founder of the estate, “the Archimedes of bubbly” as christened by Carlin Petrini. At the age of 80-plus, he’s the first to arrive in the cellar every morning, at 8 o’clock.
Remo Falconieri
Lia Falconieri
Domenico Caretto
Every vineyard has a name, a soul and a history
The oldest is Misobolo, which is now the name of our Erbaluce. We still have an original, ungrafted vine here which is almost 100 years old. It was planted at the beginning of the 20th century, before the phylloxera attack. Obviously, we look after it very carefully. Misolobo is a historical placename within the town: it is now home to a sanctuary where the opera singer and muse of Gioachino Rossini, Teresa Belloch, is buried. This is where Pietro Falconieri, Lia’s great-great-grandfather, used to grow his grapes at the end of the 19th century. Fascinated by the new-born Martinotti method, he tried to apply it himself, with a very sturdy barrel. This was “vin sfursà”, which fermented spontaneously in the barrel until Easter week, when it was time to draw it from the barrel and drink it. Then there’s the Brajassa vineyard, which belonged to Mariuccia, Domenico’s aunt; the Castagnola vineyard; the Cascinetto vineyard; and the Biaulej vineyard (Le Betulle). The Freisa vineyards belong to Carlin, Domenico’s father. We keep cultivating two small rows of Pinot Grigio which belonged to Grandpa Giacomo, out of the love of our heart.
Vigneto Misobolo: these are historic vineyards. Since 1990 it has been the name of our Erbaluce. Today we also mention the name of the vineyard on our label. About 1.8 hectares of land.
Vigneto Brajassa: this vineyard was owned by Mariuccia, Domenico’s aunt and godmother. Over a hectare of Erbaluce.
Vigneto Castagnola: the rows that embrace the new winery. Just under a hectare planted with Erbaluce.
Vigneto Cascinetto: a small vineyard planted by Marilena and Remo, shortly after their wedding in 1968. It was all Erbaluce. Even today, Marilena still drinks only white wine.
Vigneto Biaulej (Le Betulle): rows of Nebbiolo, Neretto and Erbaluce.The Erbaluce vineyard is traditionally cultivated in the form of a pergola.
The WIne
Erbaluce
The first news of the Erbaluce grape dates back to 1606, when it was mentioned by Giovan Battista Croce, jeweller to Duke Carlo Emanuele I, under the name “Elbalus”. Various theories regarding its origins have been formulated over time: the first is that it is descended from the Greco di Bianco grape and was brought to the in Canavese area by the Roman army after it left Thessaly and transited through Magna Graecia The second is that its ancestor is a variety of the French grape Clairette Blanche (widespread in the Cote du Rhone), and is therefore related to the Spanish Airen and the Greek Rhoditis, and that it arrived in Canavese area during the rule of Charlemagne. The last and most widely accepted hypothesis is that it is a true native Canavese vine, related to the Rhaetica or Raetica grape, mentioned in the days of Pliny the Elder (in the 1st century AD).
The ancient name of this grape, Albalux, seems to originate from the colour developed by the berries in autumn: the warm pinkish highlights become deeper, amber coloured, in the parts of the grape exposed to the sun.
Erbaluce is one of the most versatile grape varieties: it produces three different types of wine within the same appellation: still white wine, traditional method sparkling wine and passito. Erbaluce is able to accumulate sugars in medium concentrations while maintaining a considerable acid content. Its high natural acidity enables the production of excellent sparkling wines, endowing them with the capacity to age. It is also rich in extract, with low to medium alcohol potential, few free aromas, but several aromatic precursors. Erbaluce has a thick, crisp, resistant skin. The thickness of the skin offers good resistance to mould and excellent development in a humid environment like that which characterises the Canavese area and enables us to achieve excellent results with direct pressing, which is necessary to make excellent sparkling wine. The bunches are rather sparse, allowing excellent results with drying.
erbaluce
erbaluce di caluso docg
Erbaluce interpreted in its essence and in its purest expression, where minerality and freshness give back all the Canavese terroir. It comes from a selection of grapes from different estate-owned vineyards.
Colour: dull straw yellow with greenish highlights.
Bouquet: fresh, with characteristic notes of hawthorn and fruit, harmonising delightfully with the vigorous structure of this wine.
Palate: young, with a nicely acidic vigour and very pleasant and intensely fruity sensations.
Grape Variety: Erbaluce 100%
Zone: Average altitude: approx. 320 m above sea level Exposure: south, south-westerly Average age: 50 years
Soil: Loose, moraine soils, rich in stone.
Training system: Pergola. The average vine layout is four metres by two metres, resulting in a plant density of 1300 vines per hectare. Traditional pruning is known as “three-pointed”, with three canes, each bearing ten buds at the end.
Vinification: The grapes are destemmed and pressed to obtain the must, which clears as it settles. Low-temperature fermentation preserves all the scents of the grapes and last for 21 days.
Refinement: The wine spends the next four months in steel to stabilise. Bottled at the beginning of spring
ABV: 12.5 %
SAN GIORGIO
erbalucee di caluso docg spumante
Colour: dull straw yellow with evident greenish highlights.
Perlage: fine and persistent with a voluminous and evanescent froth.
Bouquet: dominated by the fresh and mineral sensations of the vine, accompanied by light notes of crusty bread.
Palate: full-bodied, harmonious and vigorous. The froth adds volume and crispness. Aftertaste with just the right persistence.
Grape Variety: Erbaluce 100%
Zone: Average altitude: approx. 320 m above sea level Exposure: south-easterly Average age: 30 years
Soil: Loose, moraine soils, rich in stoneTraining system: Pergola
Vinification: Made from the vinification of Erbaluce grapes selected in our vineyards for their freshness and integrity. After soft pressing the whole bunches, a temperature-controlled fermentation process begins. The wine is then bottled and undergoes a second fermentation process in the bottle.
Refinement: After spending at least 24 months maturing on lees, the bottles undergo manual rémuage (riddling) on racks known as pupitres and dégorgement (disgorging). After a further six months of bottle ageing, San Giorgio sparkling wine is ready to be uncorked.
ABV: 13%
Tucc-un
Canavese doc rosso
Tucc-un, “all for one”. The name of this red wine is the motto of the Ivrea Alpine Brigade and it perfectly suits the blend too: a meeting of traditional Canavese vines. Historically, it is very to find a single grape variety planted in old red grape vineyards. Each vineyard had an alternation of different grape varieties, selected by the experience of the local winemakers for their ability to grow well in that particular place. This is how this medium-aged red wine was born, reviving the Canavese tradition for creating blended wines. Tucc-un was also the motto of the Tuchinaggio, a revolutionary Canavese movement of rebellion against the feudal lords between the 14th and 15th centuries. An expression that has a strong bond with the territory as well as its native grapes.
Colour: deep ruby red with evident purple highlights.
Bouquet: intense and fragrant, scented with fresh fruit and reminiscences of brushwood
Palate: warm, dry, with good acidity and persistence in the mouth, where the sweetness of the wood and a slight spiciness add extra vigour. Fine tannic structure
Grape Variety: Barbera, Freisa, Neretto di San Giorgio
Zone: Altitude: approx. 320 m above sea level Exposure: south, south-westerly Average age: 20 years.
Soil: In rows, in moraine soils.
Training system: In rows
Vinification: The different grapes are harvested almost simultaneously. Traditional vinification for reds, with maceration for seven days, pumping over and délestage. Malo-lactic fermentation exclusively in wood
Refinement: Aged 9 months in second-passage wood, six months in the bottle
ABV: 13 %