The Wine – Giancarlo Ceci

WINE

In Puglia, near Castel del Monte, rises Giancarlo Ceci Winery. The winery, along with the family estate, vineyards, olive groves, farmlands and oak forest extend over 250 hectares. Winegrowing and winemaking traditions passed down in the Ceci family for generations combine with innovations, in order to craft high quality organic and biodynamic wines in total respect of nature.

Giancarlo Ceci, armed with the same agronomic skills that had already distinguished his ancestors, even before starting his wine production sets himself the goal of transferring to the glass that precious balance that comes as much from the vines as from the environment of which he is a devoted custodian.
Giancarlo’s vision finds concrete implementation thanks to his meeting with Lorenzo Landi, an expert oenologist born in Tuscany and trained with the greats of French oenology.
Thus, began a synergetic and successful journey, a union of intentions and ideals, which will lead Giancarlo Ceci wines to be appreciated both in Italy and abroad.

VINEYARDS

The vineyards, which unfold around the old family home, occupy an area of 70 hectares and are cultivated using the spurred cordon system strictly following the principles of organic and biodynamic agriculture. The rows with exposure from north to south, are cultivated in the hills at an altitude of 250 metres above sea level. Vine cultivation is favoured by a typically Mediterranean climate, dry and breezy, with good temperature ranges between day and night. It is also influenced by the sea 20 km away. The soil is karstic, of medium texture, rich in active limestone. Constant care is taken at each stage of the vine cycle, with particular attention paid to the soil in order to ensure the best health of the plant and its fruit. Native grape varieties are cultivated such as Nero di Troia, Bombino Nero, Bombino Bianco, Fiano and Moscato. These are flanked by grape varieties typical of the closest territories, fully acclimatised to the Apulian microclimate such as Montepulciano but also international varieties such as Chardonnay. The calcareous nature of the soil which slows down the vegetative ripening of the grapes, the presence of water in the depths and the good temperature excursions between day and night contribute to obtaining high quality wines with a marked finesse and freshness.

HARVEST

The crucial moment is the harvest which takes place in total respect of the vintage and the grape variety at the right ripeness of the grapes, only when they have reached a perfect balance between sugar content, acidity and aromatic freshness. In fact, a series of tastings and chemical-physical evaluations of the berries are conducted in order to determine the perfect harvest time. Following this the harvest finally begins. Harvesting takes place in the period between August and October and is done manually, through the careful and scrupulous selection of each bunch.

CELLAR

Immediately after being harvested the grapes are delivered to the modern cellar located only a few hundred meters from the vineyards, thus considerably reducing the time between harvest and vinification. All cellar practices are minimally invasive and aim not to alter but to preserve the grapes’ own balance and quality. The cellar makes use of the right technological innovation with the aid of a modern temperature control system at each stage of processing, from grape entry to pressing, during fermentation and vinification. Each tank is designed to receive only grapes from a specific plot, hence reserving it exclusively for a specific grape variety. Refinement takes place in steel tanks and French oak barriques. The latter are arranged in large and evocative areas dedicated to the aging of the wine, on the ground floor of the estate.

HISTORIC VINTAGES

In the tranquility of the ancient barrel room niches carved out of the tufa stone are dedicated to the aging of the wines’ historic vintages.
The historic vintages authentically tell the story of the terroir, preserving and enhancing its special features and distinguishing themselves by their character, elegance and capacity for aging over time.

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