Fatalone

Vintage
Our vintage begins early in the month of September, preparing the cellars to receive the first grape harvesting of Primitivo. We generally cut the Primitivo, on several rounds, towards the middle of the month, selecting the ripest and most suitable for wine-making process, from time to time.
The selection process is indeed the milestone of the processing but isn't the beginning.
The grape harvest starts after a long and meticulous preparation that lasts all the twelve months before. Immediately after the end of the previous vintage, the preparation begins with the deep ploughing to oxygenate soil and roots, rewarding their generous support to the great labour just realized.
It is a continuous process directed towards the attainment of our only aim: the quality, the passion, the attention have to ooze from the bottle, extreme rendering of spirit and love employed to grow this our fruit.
This is a constant course characterized by some basic steps .
From the end of November until the end of February is carried out the first important step: the pruning of dead shoots.
For this kind of pruning, in our growing system for Primitivo: high espalier with double head, we leave two vine-shoots long enough to contain from six to eight gems for each one. We'll further select them at the following pruning. The pruning of dead shoots systems for the Greco, with two/four-heads pergola system, are similar but it's characterized by a stricter selection during the pruning of living ones.
At the end of April, when the risk of frost is over, the last bud, that at this time measures 15/20 centimetres, is removed. This sacrifice is oriented to preserve from the frost the other buds still not open out, and just give energy to their vigorous growth.
Between the second half of May and the first half of June, with the pruning of living shoots, take place another important step: the shoot selection. We leave just three or four shoots for every vine branch of Primitivo and two or three for the Greco.
From the second half of June until the second half of July take place a detailed retouch of the essential work made in the previous period, with the different steps of growing bud tying, stripping of leaves and selective reduction of bunches, to remove the older leaves (no more useful for biochemical synthesis of plant by this time), the "femminelle" (secondary vegetation that make heavy the plant development) and the bunches in excess (to respect the production disciplinary and obtain an high quality product).
Only from eight to ten bunches for plant, are leaved; they reach total weight not above two kilos for the Primitivo and four for the Greco.
All these phases are manuals, and realized in different steps respecting the constant vegetative evolution of the vine-shoot.
At the end of this stage the vine is arrived at its final structure that through the constant and slow turning dark coloured process and ripening just after, will present the so long desired fruit of this love story that raise again every twelve months.
We are constantly present in the vineyard so we can carefully monitor the "phytosanitariy" state of our vines and, if it's necessary, appropriately intervene in good time, following our biological rules.
The frame of this picture is represented by superficial ploughing necessary every twenty days and hoed ground at the vine base two or three time for year, in spring and in summer, to create a thermal barrier to the cool ground layer where roots lodge, and release them from weed.
Another important expedient for the nutriment of plant is represented by organic and mineral dunging realized respectively in January and March to complete the generous share of our rich rocky ground.

Day after day we drove our fruit until the grape harvesting.
To decide when it's possible to begin the harvesting we realize chemical and organoleptic tests on grapes sample, to test the ripening level, PH, extract, and some others parameters important for wine-making.
For this operation we are supported by the analysis laboratory "Panalisi", the Doctor C. Arena's agronomic and oenological advice, and by our wine specialist Doctor M. Annese.
When the different shifts of first grape harvesting for Primitivo are completed, we wait for the first days of October to begin with the Greco, choosing with the same attention the most suitable moment.
The last step of our vintage is represented by the cut of "racemi". It's realized around the middle of October.