In recent years there has been a serious confrontation between the two most well-known containers used for wine-making: on the one hand the wooden bar­rel, on the other the amphora, which has come back into fashion following the outstanding work of several wine-makers and oenologists who, with considera­ble ability, have breathed new life into the use of a container that had – although not completely – disap­peared from the scene.

The challenge, however, was not confined simply to the oenological field, but often took the form of ide­ological ‘shores’, where the use of the amphora was depicted as a sort of return to the ‘origins’, to a past almost irremediably lost to contemporary man. However, the use of the amphora did not disappear by chance or because of a conspiracy inspired by modern industry, but because its use was drastically overtak­en by the potential hidden behind the container that we all know: the wooden barrel.

This “admirable instrument”, as defined by one of the most important French wine historians, Yves Re­nouard, began to be used in the Gallic-Roman regions of the French Alps as early as the second century AD, and by the end of the fourteenth century had become the standard container for the transport of wine and for vinifying grapes throughout Europe. However, the use of terracotta jars did not disappear completely, especially in the Mediterranean area, but the barrel was the best option for large-scale transportation: this wasn’t due to tasting reasons, but to logistical and economic reasons. At the very beginning of XV century the commercial revolution, which had started in the second half of XIII century, had reached its peak and ratified the birth of mass marketing for several goods, especially heavy goods such as wine (the so-called big goods). For the first time, it was finally possible to ship large quantities of wine, through long sea and land routes, from one side to the other of the known world.

In this scenario, the amphora was not regarded as a suitable container: it was fragile, bulky and, since it required at least two people for the loading and unloading operations it should not be too heavy. Be­cause of this, it had a very low capacity.

The barrel, on the other hand, being more manage­able, could be lifted with winches without too many dangers and was able to contain hundreds of liters. In a certain sense, it can be said that thanks to the barrel wines could easily be transported for long dis­tances constantly and efficiently, thus making the use of barrels so well known that they lay the founda­tions of the current world of wine. Today, the choice of terracotta or wood is luckily not based on logistical issues but only – and here is its beauty – on organo­leptic reasons.

How old a procedure is compared to another can’t be the reason for prevarication, but rather a reason for precious diversification, otherwise why stopping at amphorae and not moving backwards?

A pioneering and entertaining article on the history of wineskins was published in a recent publication on the history of leather. The Greek word ἀσκός is perhaps not very familiar to us: it is the sack of skin (wineskin) mentioned in the Gospel of St. Mark, where it is said “Vino nuovo in otri nuovi”. Could this be the solution to go back to the golden age? I don’t know, but it is believed that the more the history of wine is investigated, savouring its complicated heterogeneity, the more we shall be able to understand that diversity enriches and unifies, rather than dividing.
by Daniele Ognibene
www.ilsommeliermagazine.it

Although spring in Suvereto is slow to come, the vineyards at the Rigoli winery are expressing all their luxuriance, so It’s time to start the green pruning.
After the building of the new winery in 2018, this year our company continues to grow by planting a new Cabernet Franc vineyard that has adapted so well to our climates and is already grown in our company (in ASSIOLO).
The land on which it was planted is located at the foot of a hill with a gentle slope that slopes gently. The composition is mixed clay-stone with mineral and calcareous components.
Cabernet Franc is a vine that in Val di Cornia has been able to express great wines with a great structure and unmistakable aromas.
The aromas of Cabernet Frac could not be more clair than this: pepper, pepper, smoky traces and humus (leaves) that mix with a dark fruit where we find blueberries, currants, raspberries and strawberries. Licorice, laurel, earthy traces and herbaceous background always. Mint, chocolate and violets go hand in hand. Its balsamic charge is unmistakable
On the palate it is round, warm, ample, medium-bodied but endowed with a lively freshness and above all never too heavy. A good Franc can be an addictive wine, it has a balance that encourages drinking and leaves no way out. You could confuse it with Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is not so tannic, dark and intense.
It will take a few years before the vineyard can give the first wines, but we are not in a hurry so we let nature take its time.

Starts the building of new wine cellar of Rigoli’s Farm

The beginning of management of Niccolò and Edoardo (Nelusco’s sons) bring a new investment plan, the construction of the cellar is only a part of this plan. In fact the next steps will be a new vineyard, the making of a new tasting room and the conversion at Organic method.
The project is composed by a roof that will be used for the first processing of grapes during the harvest , an other room of 200 mq for the ageing of wines and a room of barrels for the aged.

Our wines increase the appreciation of the customers and the expert of the guides, for example The Gambero Rosso’s guide of 2018 gives a very good valuation at Assiolo 2013 and Montepitti 2015, in 2017 had evaluated positively N’Etrusco.

The fans of our wines can meet us at The Vinitaly in 16 /17 April in Pad. 10 desk D2, in the Anteprima Vini Lucca on 5 and 6 May and Il Marcato dei Vini FIVI di Roma a Cinecittà on 19 and 20 May.
How wants to buys can find it also in our wine shop on line!

Stay Tuned!

2018 is going to be a year of great news for Rigoli’s business.

In March we will start working for the construction of the new wine cellar, an investment that our company had projected long time ago and that, thank to these years’ efforts, is finally succeeding in realizing. The wine cellar is part of a wider plan of expansion of the company, which, with the entry of Niccolò and Edoardo, will include the realization of a new tasting room and the extension of the wineyard.

March is also going to be the month of Prowein, the world fair of Düsseldorf. An event that will allow an expansion of the company’s market and exports. In this occasion we present the new productios of Stradivino and Assiolo wine.  After Germany, we are back in Italy, where we are going to take part into the awaited Vinitaly project.

In May, we are going to be, once again, at Anteprima Vini Lucca, the important event that gathers the greatest producers of the Tuscan Coast; still in May, our company will participate, together with the association 11 of wine, to the World Football Championship of wine producers, which will take place in Slovenia.

Other news are round the corner, keep following us…

The 2017 grape harvest has yet to end but an early season balances could be made.

A lack of rainfall has particularly affected Italy in 2017. No rainfalls over the winter to increase the natural water reserves and no summer downpours to let the plants breathe. In 2017, Italy had experienced one of its hottest summer, characterized by constant dry temperatures and scarce rainfalls especially in summer months. This had also influenced the growth of grapevines and its ripening process. In Tuscany, most of the vintners forced to harvest crops early due to sultry summer . These particular weather conditions caused an obvious decrease in grape production, which in the Val di Cornia – Suvereto area is about 30%. The grape yield estimation presented by the Union of Italian Wines (UIV) and by the Ismea foresees a loss of 26.1%, with higher peaks in Valle d’Aosta (-32.5%), in the south-central Italy and in the islands: Toscana -32.5%, Umbria -35%, Lazio -32.5%, Abruzzo -30%, Puglia – 30%, Basilicata -32%, Sicilia -35%, and Sardegna -35% . Not only bad news from 2017 grape harvest: low humidity and high temperatures produced robust and high quality grapes. Merlot grape varietal was the first to be harvested, and later Vermentino. After some weeks we hand-picked the Sangiovese, one of the most exciting wines in the last years! We have only a few weeks left to the end of the grape harvest season with our Cabernet.

We therefore suggest you to focus on the 2017 grape harvest season and buy one of our wines because you have certainly to store it.