Carpineta Fontalpino in Tuscany Italy
The Lands:
Carpineta Fontalpino is the ancient denomination of our land, a name that reveals the history behind the place: carpineta means, in fact, “hornbeams spot” (a plant whose leaf has a silver back), while fontalpino recalls an ancient spring, once framed by pine trees, that is located in our land.
The People:
We are brother and sister, Filippo and Gioia Cresti; together with Sara, the new generation of the family, we take care of Carpineta Fontalpino with the aid of trustworthy coworkers. We lead the company that our parents built working intensely, with the awareness that the work on the land gives back only if one toils and commits to it – since nothing comes without sacrifice. Not by chance, we named our most esteemed wine Do Ut Des: a Latin saying that means “I give so that you will give”. It’s a prayer to our land.
Gioia is the enologist of the winery, and she takes care of all the aspects of wine-making, from harvest to maturation. She makes the most important choices, and you can find her personal touch on every phase of production. Filippo, on the other hand, manages sales, communication and marketing. Sara is the future: she takes the family tradition forward by studying as enologist, and she works as brand-ambassador for Carpineta, also helping with hospitality and wine tastings
The Vineyards:
The land we own extends for approximately 90 hectares (222 acres) and it hosts several cultivars. The vineyards cover 30 hectares (74 acres) and the most present varietals are Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon; we grow some other selected varietals too, such as Petit Verdot and Alicante.
Since the Farm is located near the Southern perimeter of the Chianti Classico area, we are blessed with producing wines that belong to different denominations: Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG and IGT Toscana.
The soils are quite different in type according to the area of each vineyard: some are mainly sandy, others are rich in lime or clay, always supported by a good rocky under-structure, and they find themselves laying between 220 and 380 meters above sea level.
The number of plants per hectare can vary from a minimum of 2600 plants per hectare to a maximum of 6600 plants per hectare.
The implants we use are the spurred cordon and the Guyot.
The totality of these characteristics leads to an impressive productive performance, that ensures us the chance to choose the grapes at the moment of the harvest, that is before the whole process of fermentation and transformation begins. The bottled product is therefore always the result of a rigorous selection.
