The latest from Gazzetta! A wonderful producer we're very fond of, and have been lucky enough to visit a couple of times just outside Orvieto, beside Lake Bolsena.
Procanico from old vines in Bolsena, which was fermented on the skins for three weeks before being pressed to vat until the following summer. The result is a wine of gorgeous colour and perfume, with sunset pink hues giving way to delicate notes of sea salt, mandarin zest and smoke. A brilliant example of the grape.
From Australia originally, but by her early twenties Trish had already lived in half a dozen different countries across four continents. Having fallen in love with the food and wine of Italy she decided to move there to learn more and never left. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, she travelled all over the country spending time with its most talented artisans and notably spent several years living, working and learning alongside two influential producers, Antonio and Daniela of Cantina Giardino and Gianmarco and Clementine of Le Coste. She now lives in a small cottage in Località Gazzetta on the hills above the village of Bolsena in Lazio's north. In this beautiful spot with views across Lago di Bolsena she farms two hectares of old vineyards planted with Procanico and Ansonica, with a little Malvasia and Moscato scattered throughout. The lake is one of the largest volcanic lakes in Europe and is blessed with an interesting microclimate due to the special wind patterns created by this great mass of water as it heats and cools. The vineyards sit between the Mediterranean Sea and the Apennine Mountains, which makes for a temperate climate kept fresh by mountain breezes. The soils, mainly ash and sand of volcanic origins, possess an interesting minerality that each variety expresses differently. In the vineyard she works organically, employing herbal teas from local plants such as nettle, dandelion, willow and camomile. In her makeshift cantina, grapes are fermented and aged in a variety of vessels with nothing added at any stage. Like Trish, her wines are joyful and full of life. They are pure, delicate and nourishing wines to be enjoyed everyday.
