Our Winery
Vino Noceto makes wines that beg to accompany food and do so with grace and style. To that end, our winemaking techniques aim to emphasize the unique aromatic and delicate feminine characteristics of the Sangiovese grape. With almost twenty separate lots of Sangiovese from different clones, vineyard blocks and fermentation methods, Vino Noceto is able to produce a consistent Chianti style Noceto Sangiovese from year to year and a more opulent style Riserva Sangiovese.
Most Sangiovese fermentations are conducted in automated punchdown tanks perfected by the Defranceschi family in Bolzano, Italy. These tanks not only control temperature – targeted at 75-80 Fahrenheit – but automatically punch down and break up the must. Daily aeration and pump over of the fermenting juice assure appropriate mixing and oxygenation. This week to ten-day process is remarkably gentle, preserving Sangiovese’s delicate aromas and flavors. Some Sangiovese fermentations take place in new French oak puncheons with the heads removed -- in some cases for an extended maceration. This method demands both considerable time and space and is generally reserved for our limited-production, single-block (i.e., vineyard designated) Sangioveses.
Nearly all Sangiovese aging is performed in 500 liter (130 gallon) French oak puncheons -- that’s more than double the size of a typical wine barrel -- to allow for slow, gentle aging of the wine. We learned early on that Sangiovese can easily be dominated by oak, so we employ mostly used puncheons, with only about 15-20% new each year. Almost all red wine at Vino Noceto spends at least a year in the barrel; some may spend as much as three years. Barrels and puncheons are retired after ten or more vintages. At that point, the operative word is “funky,” but basically they are worn out by years of use.
The wine is then aged in the bottle for six to eighteen months prior to release, allowing time for the various flavor components to come together.
The Noceto folks work hard to put wine on your table, whether it be for pizza or a special, seven-course, Tuscan feast!