An amazing creator that was hidden
Case Collini is the winery of Lorenzo Collino, a dandy, romantic, and mischievous professor. My encounter with him and his wine was shocking in many ways.
There was a woman from Boston who had a deep knowledge of Italian wine and was so knowledgeable that you would think there was no winemaker she didn't know about, and she introduced me to Lorenzo. was. She says, ``They make wine in Barbera that doesn't use any antioxidants, the vineyards are incredibly old, they farm with incredible care, etc... They make wine not for personal consumption, but... Even though they are so particular about making high-quality wine, it's not talked about among the winemakers."
At first, I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration. There's no way such a great creator could really be hidden away without being seen by the world. However, I still remember the upset I felt when I first drank La Barra 1997 at Angiolino's house in 2003. I'm sure they commented something like, "What is this? It's Amarone made with Barbera." The aroma of the grapes seems to be overripe rather than fully ripe, the frightening fruit flavor, the volume, and the alcohol, but it's very drinkable... In your head? Several years later, in the fall of 2006, I finally met him. Then we can talk about things that fit together! Things related to agriculture, humans and nature...I really understood everything, and I couldn't help but enjoy the conversation.
Lorenzo spoke out against modern large-scale agriculture, which consumes a large amount of energy, and preached the importance of "sustainable" agriculture from the perspective of a geologist. We also cultivate grapes and make wine.
logical exhaustion
In the fields, we do not use any pesticides other than spraying Bordeaux liquid 2-3 times a year, and practice no fertilization, no tillage, and no weeding. The soil around the grape vines is stirred up once every 5-10 years. The ridges and other areas are completely no-till, and weeds are only mowed 2-3 times a year. Grapes of overwhelming concentration and ripeness are harvested from older trees.
Even in the cellar, we try to avoid human intervention as much as possible, carry out long-term fermentation and maceration, do not change barrels as much as possible, and do not use antioxidants in any process from brewing to bottling. . Lorenzo has a sense of doing everything he can, whether it be in the fields or in the cellar, and he doesn't do it because he feels like he's "never going to do it!", but from a logical standpoint, he thinks "not doing it is itself." It seems that they are not doing it because they think it makes sense. They have learned from experience that the teachings of their predecessors have very deep implications, and they have scientific backing for this.
Sustainable winemaking ~Field edition~
One of the words that Lorenzo often uses is "Sostenibile" (sustainable), and I'm always impressed when it's a good word.
