We have been farming organically since 1994, with all our 18 hectares of vineyards and 1,600 olive trees cultivated naturally and respecting climatic cycles. Gratena’s microclimate is like a world unto itself, with hundreds of hectares of woods surrounding our crops meaning there is no risk of non-biological contamination. Nature can express itself freely as though we were in a large natural park.
Manure is used to fertilise, copper and sulphur are used for treatments and our crops are harvested by hand. The fermentation process is completely natural using indigenous yeasts in steel tanks that are placed outdoors and benefit from the temperatures through the days and nights. Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, with no addition of sulphites, the wine is put back into the tanks positioned inside the cellar.
A keyword for us is “Terroir” and we respect ours deeply; it underpins all our work to ensure we maintain the unique characteristics of our wines.
We only use native grape varieties, both Sangiovese and our exclusive GRATENA NERO grape that was approved in Italy’s Official Gazette in 2010 thanks to the work done by Prof. Attilio Scienza of Milan University. It is now an official Tuscan grape variety.
