| There is a corner of Veneto, between the Venetian Lagoon and the Alps, where water abounds (it is crossed by the Livenza and Tagliamento rivers, which carry the mineral wealth of the mountains down to the valley) and sunlight is plentiful. This area has been a vineyard and a wheat-belt since Roman times. Here the legions of Rome built great riches, and the Republic of Venice sourced the wine and grain for its ships. This is Eastern Veneto, where Torresella produces the typical wines of the great Italian oenological tradition: the quintessential local wines, like Refosco, and those that have become local, like Merlot and Cabernet, because they were “imported” from France at the end of the 19th century by seasonal labourers from the area. Then there’s Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Prosecco. Torresella is an excellent estate that has been designed and built to produce high-quality wines while maximizing environmental sustainability, in a challenging location characterized by narrow day-night temperature fluctuations, a low altitude, and plentiful water. Large-scale hydraulic engineering projects have drained the soil of the vineyards, and the almost incessant strong sunlight has been mitigated by a futuristic underground micro-irrigation project. Here, in a fully Mediterranean climate, where prickly pears grow alongside the vineyards, wines of great personality are born. |
