Contadi Castaldi
Contadi Castaldi is one of the leading sparkling wine producers in Franciacorta, a region in the province of Brescia, Lombardy blessed with fertile soils, formerly used as brick and concrete quarries. Founded by the Moretti family, focusing on intensive research, innovation and a dynamic attitude which greatly differentiated Contadi Castaldi from any other winery in Franciacorta. The winery’s name refers to the ancient history of the area where the “Contadi” were small counties known for their outstanding agricultural products, and the “Castaldi” were the lords who governed those lands.
The Contadi Castaldi winery was founded in 1987, when Vittorio Moretti converted the brick-kiln of Biasca di Adro, an historic building erected in 1880, into a winery to produce some of the finest wines in Franciacorta. The building, with its long arched underground passages, separated by thick walls, maintains the optimal temperature and moisture level. The company currently produces about 750,000 bottles of wine a year, made from prized grapes gathered from over 100 hectares of vineyards, located in areas that once corresponded to the counties (contadi) of Franciacorta, which were controlled by the local lord, the steward (castaldo). It has multi-year agreements with forty or so local vine-growers, who are supervised by a team of technical experts, from the planting of the vine to the hand harvesting of the grapes. The main advantage of this is being able to make best use of the micro climates, giving base wines different features that provide the cuvées with more complexity. These are superb wines that offer remarkable value in the world of sparkling Franciacorta.
Their grapes are harvested late August to early September, vinification includes soft pressing after cold (17/18° c) maceration of about 3-4 hours cold settling. Inoculationed with selected yeast and a fermentation of 20 days in stainless steel, partial malolactic fermentation takes place and is then aged 7 months partly in steel and partly in barriques barrels.
