Saddled between Lombardy and Veneto, one of the most original viticultural areas in all of Europe sits between the communes of Sirmione and Peschiera. A unique climate, tempered by the body of water known in antiquity as Lake Benacus. A breathtaking landscape, made even more special by the amphitheater of hills formed thousands of years ago by glacial moraines. These origins are the secret behind the appellation’s deep-reaching, humid clay soils and abundant minerals. These soils make the land there ideal for grape growing and in particular for Trebbiano di Lugana vines. This is where Santa Cristina wines are born. Wines with character and an authentic expression of Lugana's distinctive terroir.
Monte Costalunga presents today the forms that Sergio Zenato imagined more than thirty years ago when he bought the estate, 35 hectares in total, determined to transform a piece of land left to rest for centuries into the garden of his vines: a model vineyard in the Valpolicella Classica, cared for in every detail. On these hills vines were already cultivated by the Arusnati, then by the Romans, the Lombards, and finally by ecclesiastical institutions and the great aristocratic families. Sergio Zenato drew the distribution on the land of the vines selected for the production of the different wines, going so far as to indicate the single direction of the rows. A thoroughness that we read in the construction of the characteristic dry stone walls, elegant support structures and efficient system that guarantees the vine the three fundamental elements it needs: air, water and heat.
According to legend, there was once a woman so proud that everyone called her Sansonina, “little Samson,” after the character in the Bible. Three centuries ago, she was the owner of this enchanting place. Today, it’s home to 13 hectares planted to vine near Sirmione. It produces wines with distinctive character, including white wines Lugana and the experimental Lugana “Spontaneous Fermentation,” and top reds Merlot Sansonina and Evaluna.
A magical place, a world unto itself, capable of inspiring emotion and creating unique memories. This is Bolgheri, a jewel nestled in the Tuscan hills: An expression of the soul, a dimension suspended between, sound, aroma, texture, and colors that flow together in a breathtaking work of art. The blue of the Tuscan sea is dazzling. The blue of its sky is like a caress. Its green hills are like a warm hug. Enchanted by Tuscany’s magic, Carla purchased a small farm there in 2003: 3.8 hectares along the Via Bolgherese — the Bolgheri wine trail — in the heart of the appellation. Here, shaded by Bolgheri’s picturesque cypress trees, olive groves alternate with vineyards planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Their fruit is used to make the Zenato family’s personal interpretation of Bolgheri DOC.
