Cantina La Pesenata

The Soc. Agr. La Pesenata was founded in February 2019, after about 15 years of exploitation of the family land by contractors, to have the land and in particular the vineyards cultivated again by the owners Benciolini.

Pesenata Winery cultivates about 7 hectares of land, of which about 4 hectares are vineyards, on the morainic hills of Lake Garda that have been owned by the Benciolini family since 1868. The name "La Pesenata" derives from the place name, Palù della Pesenata, and was given in 1778 when Countess Pesenati Falconi became the owner.

The estate has been cultivating the land organically (certified) for several decades, now introducing biodynamic farming concepts and techniques, as they are applying for Demeter biodynamic certification and are part of a group of biodynamic farms in the Verona area 'Arena biodynamica' with which they produce preparations. Pesenata vineyard is a double Veronese pergola planted in 1996 with 60% Corvina and the other Rondinella.

In the vineyard, all work is done by hand, from pruning to topping and suckering through to defoliation. In winter the estate adds humified natural manure from their 'biodynamic heap'. In the heap, they are humifying not only the manure produced by the animals but also all the plant residues that will then be spread in the vineyard. They have sown green manure that they leave until the start of sowing. The estate tries to keep the use of mechanical means in the vineyard to a minimum. They are also considering adopting animal traction (horse comtois) for all farming practices. 

Pesenata 6 six donkeys and two ponies that occasionally graze in the middle of the vineyard, and 10 dwarf d'ouessant sheep that are used to keep the turf trimmed. There are also about 50 hens that stir up the soil to make it more alive. And there are bees increasing biodiversity, as well as a farm garden and an orchard that will soon become a 'food forest'. Finally, the estate also has 4 hectares of arable land where, in addition to fodder, they produce potatoes, beans, ancient grains, spelt, buckwheat and other annual crops.

In the cellar at Pesenata Winery, nature is allowed to take its course, producing wine spontaneously and naturally.

The grapes are picked by hand, with each bunch carefully selected. They are placed in small trays holding about 5–6 kg of grapes each and immediately transported to the cellar. Depending on the desired wine, a specific production process is followed.

The first process enables the estate to produce a white wine from red grapes. Whole bunches are placed directly in the press, and through very soft pressing, only the flower must is extracted, with a yield of about 35% of the grape weight. This flower must ferments spontaneously in a steel vat using a 'pied de cuve' prepared a few days earlier.

In the second process, the grapes are destemmed and gently crushed, with about 15% of the berries left whole. The crushed grapes are placed in a steel fermenter and macerated for 10–12 hours. The estate then performs the "salasso" technique to create a rosé wine, which is allowed to ferment completely. Only two racking operations are carried out, one in December and another before bottling in late February. No clarification, chemical stabilization, filtration, or temperature control is performed. A small quantity of potassium metabisulfite is added before bottling, staying well below the threshold of 30 mg/l of total sulfur dioxide (the law permits up to 150 mg/l).

The red wine is produced using the remaining crushed grapes from the "salasso," to which another batch of crushed grapes is added. This mixture is left to ferment spontaneously and macerate with the skins for about 12 days. After fermentation, a very soft lung pressing is conducted, allowing for gentle extraction from the whole grapes.

From the white and rosé wines, Pesenata Winery also produces a classic method sparkling wine through bottle re-fermentation using sugars obtained by drying a small portion of the estate’s grapes. The sparkling wine remains in contact with the yeasts for approximately 24 months before disgorging and marketing.

The wines of Pesenata Winery are spontaneous, unadulterated, and naturally crafted without invasive techniques such as filtration, clarification, or chemical stabilization. This approach allows the wines to fully express their character, faithfully reflecting the terroir and vintage.