Our new brochure - in German too
Here the are the project that I realised for our big brochure.
First peges are dedicated to us, Guado al Melo's staff and owners.
Here there are the presentation of our territory.
About Guado al Melo, where it is, the vineyards's map, ...
About our way to manage the works in vineyard
Our underground and sustainable cellar, the museum about wine history and culture...
Noi we are inside the cellar. We present our way to make wine, based on artisanality and sustainbility.
At the end, wines description
About yeast (a complicated topic !) 2
Where did Saccharomyces come from, then?
Research has shown that the best habitat of the Saccharomyces is the winery and not the vineyard. It settles with contaminations which origin is difficult to identify (it may come from the external environment, from tools, from yeasts brought to the cellar, etc.). In an old cellar, where vinification has been made for years, it becomes a quietly but well established inhabitant. On the other hand, it is known that in new cellars the fermentations are always a little difficult.
What happens during the spontaneous fermentation?
When we crush the grapes, we bring in to the juice all our little travelling guests. But everyone does not like the treatment, many succumb. Only ones suited to survive in these new and difficult conditions remain: high sugar concentration and (almost) no oxygen. The Saccharomyces is poorly represented and for now it is quiet. Fermentation starts with non-saccharomyces which alternate rapidly in the control of the process. It is a sort of race for survival: everyone wants that “damned” sugar (and other compounds) but wins and alternates at the command who prevails, because it starts with an advantage or because it is favored by different chemical-physical conditions which gradually occur (temperature, pH, acidity, increasing ethanol, etc.). Meanwhile, the Saccharomyces is more and more increasingly and, as it is a bit stronger, wins the others on the resistance to alcohol (and to other), becoming more and more the dominant species. It has been found that, where Saccharomyces does not manage to prevail over the final (for several reasons), fermentation proceeds with difficulty and there are unfavorable results on the quality of the wine.
I hope it is clear the large number of variables which come into play. They significantly change the final result (the characteristics of the wine). Oenology is certainly not a simple matter: knowledge is essential for not proceeding too dangerously to the mercy of the fate (not always benign). We are professional-artisans of our work, not amateurs. The health status of the grapes, the availability of nitrogenous nutrients, the cleaning of equipment and the environment, the temperatures, the more or less pushed contact with oxygen, etc., come into play, positively or negatively, as well as (naturally) possible addition of sulfur dioxide and inoculation with Saccharomyces (acts that change the game). All these factors influence selecting the various species and the strains that alternate to conduct fermentation.
But we know who is running the show?
No, it is really difficult to follow this alternation in the tank step by step. The wine-producer knows how to manage fermentation carefully with appropriate and calibrated interventions when the process is slow to go on, if he start to hear some unpleasant smell, etc. However, he can’t know for sure who is running the show, which, as already mentioned, can also change every year. It has also been demonstrated (in cellars where only spontaneous fermentations are conducted) that the microorganisms mix involved also changes from the first fermentations to the subsequent ones. In the first fermentations of the vintage the non-saccharomyces start at the first stages, while the S. intervenes later. Going forward with the harvest, however, when it is very strong in the cellar, Saccharomyces can become predominant immediately in the initial stages.
And the induced fermentation? Is it the pure devil?
For some it is the slogan of the moment: spontaneous fermentation (or not) seems to be able to quickly designate wines as better (or less). However, it is like concentrating only on the tip of an iceberg and not thinking about the enormous mass under water. To make a great artisanal wine of the territory the fermentation is certainly fundamental but it takes a lot before (in the vineyard above all) and much after. For example, if I have an unbalanced grape, because it comes from a bad-managed vineyard, I can also make spontaneous fermentations but I will still get wine that is not very expressive. This is because in the grapes are lacking the building blocks that the yeasts should use to make a great wine, but they don't find them!
Must inoculation can be useful in certain difficult situations, without changing the terroir-expressive characteristics of the wine. Research has shown that the inoculation does not necessarily prevent the initial activity of the non-saccharomyces coming from the vineyard, especially if the addition is (for example) a little delayed.
Surely we know that the diversity of species and strains is much better than uniformity. Certainly we know that to produce local wine it is better to avoid all those selection strains which introduce particular characteristics into the wine, altering the territorial ones. When (and if) we needed, the best choice is to make inoculation with the selected strains from our cellar that, whatever their origin, however they have become integral parts of our "terroir" over the years. Surely we know that every wine, even in the same winery, has its history and its needs, not always uniform, in every sense!
This post is very general and informative. Overall, I want you understand the enormous complexity that comes into play in this process and that makes our work so fascinating and so complicated. You will also understand why, as a rule, the winemaker during the harvest sleeps with difficulty, thinking incessantly about what happens in the tank.
It's a small world but a lot happens!
About yeasts (a complicated topic !) 1
Today some people speak so much about it, sometimes even inappropriately, neglecting perhaps the other thousand and more basic parameters to produce an excellent wine of the territory. Unfortunately, when a topic becomes marketing arena, it becomes difficult to talk about it with serenity. Unfortunately, the fake news are also not wasted, sometimes so beautiful and poetic that they are fixed in the collective imagination.
Yet yeast is not "born yesterday" but has been accompanying mankind for at least 10,000 years in many food transformations, even if the use has been unconscious for millennia. Only in the second half of the nineteenth century Pasteur demonstrated the role of microorganisms in fermentation and also in wine alterations. Since then the path, still underway, to understand this fascinating and complicated transformation has begun.
There are still many things to discover and understand. Yet we are no longer at the time when fermentation was a mysterious process around which were born also many legends, superstitious rites and magical interpretations (some hard to die even today).
We know that alcoholic fermentation is mainly carried out by the yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces, such as the famous S. cerevisae or S. bayanus, which in turn can be represented by different strains. They are also the most suitable yeast to withstand the accumulation of ethanol that is created by the transformation of sugars. In fact, they are the only ones who stay alive and lead the process to the end. This fact makes them indispensable.
But they are not the only ones: in the juice-wine there is a rich biodiversity of yeasts and bacteria that intervene more or less positively. To name a few, we can remember the Candida pulcherrima (very beautiful!), the genera Pichia, Cryptococcus, Rhodotorula, Kloeckera ... They are generally more sensitive to alcohol, so many can survive only in the early stages. However they are important: it has been shown that these non-saccharomyces greatly influence the aromatic characteristics of the wine, both positively and (sometimes) negatively. If well managed, they give the wine unique notes, contributing significantly to the complexity and personality of the product. If poorly managed, they can lead to smells, excessive volatile acidity, etc. , making wines really unpleasant.
Where do the yeasts come from?
Yeasts, like many useful or harmful microorganisms, are found almost everywhere in nature. There have been several studies to try to understand this point in wine-making. Research over the last 10 years has shown that many microorganisms are present on grapes. Their quantity and diversity depend very much on how the vineyard was managed, on the temperature and on the health status of the fruit. It has also been seen that this mix of microorganisms changes with the vintage, it is characteristic of the micro-territory (the vineyard) and the vine variety. For these reasons it has been included in the so-called viticultural terroir.
It is not easy, however, to establish the quantities and qualities in individual un-scientific evidence. In fact, it has been seen that samplings change a lot, even in the same vineyard, if made in one way or another. Only by comparing a very high number of different studies is it possible to draw more general conclusions. (This is the very research).
On the surface of a perfectly intact berry there are very few nutrients. So there are few microorganisms, those pioneers able to survive in this limiting situation. Many of these are not the microorganisms that carry on the alcoholic fermentation because they depend on oxygen to live. Alcoholic fermentation, on the other hand, is a reaction that occurs in the absence of this gas (in "anaerobiosis" condition).
Most of the microorganisms that affect fermentation are mostly found on damaged berries (for the most diverse reasons). In fact, only by the splits of the peel they can find those nutrients essential for their survival and the environment suitable for them.
But here we need a clarification: to paraphrase the Latins, we must say that "in minima stat virtus". It is true that the most damaged grapes have a greater biodiversity and microbial load, but, attention, this does not mean that it is the best condition for winemaking! In a very healthy grape (the best to be vinified) there is however a small percentage of grapes with micro-cracks to carry a more than sufficient quantity of microorganisms in the cellar. Unhealthy grapes are always negative, both due to their internal non-optimal characteristics and to a strongly negative microbial content.
However, research has shown that this small crowd that we bring into the cellar in the baskets of grapes is mainly composed of the fermentative microorganisms of the early stages. Surprisingly, it is very little represented what will become the almost absolute protagonist when the "game" will be hard: the Saccharomyces!
Where did it come from, then?
(To be continued )
About wines which will not be produced.
As we have already anticipated, our most important Red Wines, Atis and Jassarte 2014 will not be in trade. We would have start to sale them in the next few months, with the presentation at Vinitaly.
2014 was a very difficult harvest in our territory. Fortunately it is rare for Bolgheri, but sometimes such vintages can happen.
What is a difficult vintage? It is a year in which the adverse climatic events add up so much that they do not allow the origination of the particular characteristics , to give birth to those Selection Wines where the "Spirit of the Place" manifests itself in all its magnificence. 2014 was one of these.
It was a year without our beautiful summer, replaced by a gray sky of almost continuous humidity, finished with a harvest in the rain. The best of the grapes, which we took care of and selected with meticulous work in the vineyard, has deserved to produce good wines of great finesse, our basic red wines, but not the Selections wines.
For me wine is absolutely terroir-expressive, which means to put yourself at the service of territory, to facilitate a transformation that always surprises you. A great wine of territory is something that you can not fully understand even when it is born, because it does not stop changing and transforming itself in the passing time.
Wine, naturally, is not only born in the vineyard but also in the cellar. The absolute care of our work and the choices made in one and the other area are fundamental. But one thing is the care that leads to enhance the qualities, one thing is to want to alter them.
Such difficult vintages, for the great selection reds, are not "saved" by intervening in the cellar. You can make them technically perfect with a lot of practices, but you can not bring out that something more and better ("that soul") that simply does not exist in the grapes. It is not a matter of knowing how to do it or not.
In my opinion, having a great technical ability in making wine does not mean intervening at any cost, but rather being able to understand when it is better to stop. I have too much respect for Atis and Jassarte to mistreat them in this way.
Making this choice is never easy for a wine producer. We live from this work, we feel the responsibility towards our children, our collaborators and their families. In this period of emptiness there are those who will forget our great reds, who will replace them with others. Patience, I am convinced that it will recover.
Waiting for Atis and Jassarte of the great vintage 2015, let's enjoy the latest bottles of the excellent 2013 and the other historical vintages.
Michele Scienza
Next appointments on November
Save these dates. Here there are two wine tasting events in Italy. We will be too:
- 18-19 November 2017, in the port of Livorno, Mare di Vino: wine fair with wineries from the province of Livorno (Denominations: Bolgheri, Val di Cornia, Montescudaio and Terratico di Bibbona). Info on: http://www.maredivino.it/
- 25-26 November 2017,at the Fair of Piacenza, Mostra Mercato dei Vini dei Vignaioli Indipendenti: wine fair of the vinegrowers from all of Italy, members of FIVI (Federazione Italiana dei Vignaioli Indipendenti), little or medium artisanal wineries. Info on http://www.mercatodeivini.it/
Taormina Gourmet October 21-22-23 2017
Save the date: we will at the food&wine festival Taormina Gourmet, in Sicily.
Info on: http://www.taorminagourmet.it/
Criseo: one of the best tuscan white wines
Criseo, the first aging white wine in Bolgheri Denomination, continues to attract attention. The Italian journalist Daniele Cernilli put him among the best white wines of this summer, describing it as follows:
"Nose of formidable complexity, notes of flint, cedar, fresh almond and exotic fruit hints, full flavor, salty, excellent body, warm but agile and with a very pleasant drinkability. One of the best Tuscan whites this year. Complex".
Thanks very much!
Katrin Pfeifer "Bolgheri: Impressioni dalla Natura" "Impression from Nature"
Ecco alcune immagini della mostra.
Here there are some pictures of the exhibition.
Saturday 8th July: unveiling of the work "August Dance" by Fabrizio Tiribilli"
Saturday 8th July, from 6.00 pm till 8.00 pm, presentation of the work.
We are waiting for you.
Tom Hyland: Guado al Melo, expressive wines from Bolgheri
Tom Hyland wrote about Guado al Melo:
Guado al Melo, expressive wines from Bolgheri
Vineyards at Guado al Melo, Castagneto Carducci
(All photos from the Guado al Melo website)
The Bolgheri district, located along the western coast of Tuscany in the province of Livorno, has become, in the short time frame of 35-40 years, one of the most celebrated of all wine territories in Italy. There’s more than a touch of irony here, as the leading varieties are not indigenous, but rather ones imported from France, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Yes, Sangiovese is grown in Bolgheri (this is Tuscany, after all), but this variety takes a back seat to the cultivars from Bordeaux.
The names of the most critically acclaimed red wines of Bolgheri (there are some notable whites produced here as well – more on that later) are quite famous, names such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia. Less well-known, but as impressive (arguably, even more so) is Grattamacco. These estates have made Bolgheri a household name and today they continue to craft stunning wines.
Of course, as with any wine zone, there are numerous excellent producers that are not as well known. One of the best of this category is Guado Al Melo, property of the Scienza family. Michele Scienza, who had spent time in Bolgheri, learning the land alongside his father Attilio, moved to the small town of Castagneto Carducci in 2000, and opened Guado al Melo soon after.
Michele had a wonderful education in wine, thanks to Attilio, who is one of Italy’s most knowledgable personalities when it comes to viticulture and grape varieties. One of the features of the winery today is a library of wine books, one of the most exhaustive in Italy, or the world for that matter. If you need to know anything about what varieties should be planted in which soils throughout Italy, ask Attilio Scienza. Believe me, you will get a thorough answer!
Inheriting such a vast wealth of knowledge from his father, it was only natural that Michele would become a bit adventurous in his work. Along with crafting his versions of Bolgheri reds – and one impressive Bolgheri white – Michele produces a special red known as Jassarte. The name is that of a river of the ancient world; together with the River Indo, these bodies of water separated East from West several thousand of years ago. Together with his father, Michele planted a separate vineyard at the estate that would be a field blend, with a mix between Mediterranean (current Western Hemisphere) and Caucasian (Asia Minor) varieties. The vineyards themselves are trained in ancient Etruscan methods, and the wine is a bit of a tribute to Etruscan winemaking from centuries past, while implementing current technology in the cellar. Jassarte is a blend of at least 30 varieties, which includes a few from Portugal, as well as Caucacus and the Rhone Valley; while there is little information given out regarding the exact varieties used in this wine, the dominant one is Syrah.
Here are a few brief notes on the wines of Guado al Melo:
2015 Criseo (Bolgheri Bianco) – This is one of the top two wines of Guadl al Melo, and of the current releases, it is the finest. A blend of Vermentino (80%) with smaller percantages of Verdicchio, Manzone, Fiano and Petit Manseng (how’s that for an unusual mix of varieties?); aged in stainless steel and given several months of aging on its lees. Aromas of lemon zest, guava and a hint of apricot. Medium-full with excellent depth of fruit, and a rich mid-palate. Impressive persistence, very good acidity and a light minerality. Excellent complexity, this is well made and engaging now, but will display greater complexities over the next 3-5 years. Excellent
2015 Antillo (Bolgheri Rosso) – Sangiovese-based, this offers aromas of black cherry, tobacco and menthol. Good acidity, with a slight bite to the tannins. Fresh and fruity, but lacking complexity. Enjoy over the next 2-3 years. Good (Antillo means “sunny place.”)
2015 Rute (Bolgheri Rosso) – Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with a small percentage of Merlot. Bright ruby red; aromas of black cherry, myrtle, plum and mint. Medium-bodied, with ideal ripeness, good acidity, medium-weight tannins, very good persistence and impressive harmony, though perhaps a touch too much oak. Enjoy now and over the next 2-4 years. Very Good (Rute is an Etruscan word meaning “red.”)
2015 Atis (Bolgheri Superiore) – Atis is the name of a legendary Etruscan king. Cabernet Sauvignon-based, this has aromas of black plum, violet and thyme. Medium-full with very good to excellent concentration. Ripe and somewhat forward, with medium-weight tannins, good acidity and impressive persistence. This needs several years to settle down and display its finest qualities. Best in 10-12 years. Excellent
Bravo to Michele Scienza for his consistently excellent work at Guado al Melo. He was recently recognized for being one of the up-and-coming wine estates in Italy by a prestigious wine publication in that country, and I personally admire his Criseo Bianco quite a bit. I think you will be hearing more about his wines over the coming years.
Tom Hyland
Guado al Melo summer opening hours
There is the summer change of our opening hours. From today till mid of September, we will open from Monday to Saturday morning 10.00 am - 1.00 pm / 4.00 pm - 8.00 pm.
Come in our winery: during these times you can make wine tastings, free visit at our museum about history and culture of wine, wine shopping.
But if you prefer a guided wine tour + tasting, don't forget to make a reservation.
Serving and pairing wine
Do you know that it is better not to leave the wine in the car under the sun on summer (Italian summer, above all) ?
Or that serving wine at a wrong temperature does not make us appreciate it?
You must not be (necessarily) an expert to enjoy yourself with a glass of wine : the best thing is to let go of pleasure. However, there are little things to make this time better or, at least, to enjoy a good bottle of wine without problems. There are a lot of books on the subject for those who want to deepen. In these brochures we only give some basic information.
There is also some idea of pairing our wines with food ... then you can use your imagination.
Local dish: it is a dish typical of our area (Castagneto Carducci, Tuscan Coast).
Italian recipes: here italian (in general) dishes.
Here there is the pdf file:
August Dance - The artist Fabrizio Tiribilli creates again for Guado al Melo
Fabrizio Tiribilli, an artist of Florentine origins who lives on the Tuscany Coast, now in Livorno (after an intermezzo in Sicily) returns to create for our winery. He does so with a beautiful work inspired by nature and our work of vintners. Fabrizio is a great person and friend, as well as an artist of great sensibility.
The title of this latest work is "Dance of August", inspired by the color dance that is created on the bunch of grapes during the veraison*. Technically, it is an oil painting on wood panels. The work is very big and Fabrizio has broken the bunch into many panels, playing with full and empty, for a spectacular overall effect.
We are finishing the preparation and shortly there will be a worthy inauguration!
* The bunch, after flowering, is shaped by green little balls that begin slowly to swell. At the beginning of August acines do not grow anymore but begin to change color. This change is called "veraison". For white grapes it is a discrete process, turning to yellow or yellow with green shades. For black grapes it is more noticeable and spectacular: the acines, even on the same bunch, take different colors before reaching the final one, different for each variety, ranging from violet to deep blue. At the end, the whole grape has changed color but is not ready yet. Now it begins to mature, that is, all the internal transformations that lead to the accumulation of sugars, aromas, tannins, etc. To reach to the optimum maturation they pass about 40 days, which may also vary according to the seasonal trend of this delicate and very important moment.
This is the second important work that Fabrizio has made for our cellar, inspired by the vineyard. The first one dates back to 2007. This is a triptych, "Leaf", oil colours on wood, which represents a vine leaf divided into three parts and with the three colors that nature gives it in different seasons. This work, always of great impact, enlivens our tasting room.
Later he "played" with the air recirculation turrets (n.9 in total) on the green roof of our cellar, with a work called "Regenesi Ludica", always inspired by the colors of the surrounding nature. He has transformed technical objects (to hide) in living elements that characterize the landscape.
Lastly, in 2015, we hosted an his exhibition in our cellar. Do you remember it?
Un Mare di Gusto, San Vincenzo, 5-6-7 May 2017
During the next week-end, 5-6-7 May, there will be the event "Un Mare di Gusto" in San Vincenzo (near Castagneto Carducci). It is a fish cooking festival, in particular all around the local fish "palamita", a kind of oily fish, very very delicious. In pairing with food tastings, there will be our white wines, L'Airone Vermentino 2016 and Criseo Bolgheri DOC Bianco 2015.
Here there is the event web site
programma-2017-un-mare-di-gusto
Mostra-mercato dei Vignaioli Indipendenti FIVI, Roma, 13-14 Maggio 2017
Il 13 e 14 Maggio invece saremo a Roma, al salone dei Vignaioli Indipendenti.
On 13th and 14th May, we'll be at Rome, at the wine tasting of FIVI Association.
Anteprima Vini Costa Toscana, Lucca, 6-7 Maggio 2017
Ecco il prossimo evento a cui partecipiamo con i nostri vini. Vi aspettiamo a Lucca!
Here there are the next event where you can taste our wines. See you at Lucca!!
Vinitaly 2017
This year, 2017, we were at Vinitaly in the stand of our new distributor for Italy, Cuzziol GrandiVini. We really like the style of the stand (elegant and sober). The Cuzziol's staff was very competent.
We also met some of our foreign importers, with whom we work for years. They have thus been able to taste the new vintages of our wines. They come from German, Belgium, Sweden, Great Bretain, USA, Japan, Australia, etc. There was some new contacts too. So, we will be able to export our wines to some new countries in next months... (news soon).
Prof. Attilio Scienza (Michele's father) was ranked fourth in the list of major influencers of the Italian wine world, for his scientific research on the viticulture sustainability.
Thanks very much to all!
Michele with Antonio Paolini (Press) and Attilio Scienza
A new precious book for our library
A new book, of great cultural value, becomes part of our library, on display at Guado al Melo.
It is an edition of the sixteenth century of the only medieval agricolture treaty of Western, the work of Pietro de Crescenzi "Ruralium Commodorum libri XII" written in 1307 in Bologna. This edition, in 1561 exactly, translated from Latin into Italian, was published by Francesco Sansovino, Publisher in Venice .
Here are some beautiful pages.
Unsere Weine in Brasilien
Eine gute Nachricht: Wir fangen an, in Brasilien zu arbeiten!
Wir haben eine Zusammenarbeit mit dem Importeur begonnen:
PORTINTEX COMERCIO, IMPORTACAO, EXPORTACAO E REP. LTDA
EST DE SOROCAMIRIM, 23
18130375 SAO ROQUE