Sustainability: the choice of grape varieties
Sustainability. To use or not to use this word? It is heard and read everywhere and often used without a real meaning. However, few terms can immediately focus on a concept like this.
For Ca' Lustra, sustainability is a concrete commitment in all production phases, starting from the heart of our work: the grape varieties to cultivate. In a time when climate change is making a significant impact, how can we continue to produce wine while respecting the environment?
The answer lies primarily in the choice of those varieties that are best suited to the Euganean Hills today. We know well that our land presents different pedoclimatic conditions, even within a few hundred meters, making some varieties more performant than others depending on the area. Choosing the right ones allows us to avoid forcing production. In addition, constant work in the vineyard remains essential. When done with a regenerative mindset, it eliminates the need for irrigation and fertilization. The vineyard, indeed, develops the ability to "self-regulate," facing climatic stresses with greater resilience.
In recent years we have sought land in cooler areas near our winery, in the central part of the Euganean Hills. In particular we are favoring north-facing slopes, where the mild temperatures provide an ideal environment for certain grapes like Merlot, known for its tendency to concentrate sugars and therefore alcohol content. Also, in Faedo, we are prioritizing Garganega and Moscato Bianco, which provide excellent results due to the correct ripening of the grapes, even in hot years. These grapes, among the most traditional of the Euganean Hills, also represent a link to our territory.
In Arquà Petrarca, on the other hand, since the 1990s we have been growing Merlot and Cabernet. We are located in the south-east of the Euganean Hills, one of the hottest and driest areas. Here, while Cabernet still expresses great structure and elegance, Merlot challenges us to find solutions to achieve a balanced wine, such as with multiple harvests in the same vineyard to reach optimal grape ripening and shorter macerations. But research does not stop at these two varieties: after several years of experimentation, we have planted a thousand Pinella vines right in Arquà Petrarca. This local variety is distinguished by its moderate alcohol content and marked freshness, characteristics it maintains even in more challenging pedoclimatic areas. For those who had the opportunity to taste it, in 2024 we presented among the Prove d'Autore a still white wine produced from the first experimental Pinella vineyard. PIN0223 is the name, with just a few hundred bottles that gave us great satisfaction, a second trial after an initial batch of just 3 bottles.
Sustainability is a very complex topic, and the choice of varieties to cultivate is perhaps the first element, which intertwines with agronomic, oenological, practical and economic decisions, as well as with pre-existing conditions. It is impossible to exhaust the topic in a few lines; this is just a brief introduction, but if interested, we would be happy to delve deeper into the subject with you, perhaps during a visit to the winery. Our commitment is constant, always oriented toward the future, essential to try to do the best we can in a rich and complex territory like the Euganean Hills, today also a MaB Unesco.