cantina viticoltori senesi aretini
Tuscany - Italy
story…
Cantina Viticoltori Senesi Aretini was founded in 1971 by 30 producers and the facility is based in the center of Tuscany between Siena & the town of Arezzo, just northeast of Montalcino. Although only starting with 30 members just over 40 years ago, this modern cooperative has grown to a total of 235 members with a collective of 350 hectares of vineyards between them. Cooperatives have long received a bad reputation in the wine community, particularly in Italy in the late 60’s - 80’s many were often establishments focused on large production and low quality product. However, historically cooperatives were a great way to gather collective resources between many small farmers, most of which didn’t own enough land or vines to make a living producing wine on their own. In turn the cooperative could produce good wine in larger quantities to ensure the local farmers could earn more for their work and provide for their families. These cooperatives became the life blood of Italian wine growers in the postwar era of the 50’s.
In the case of Viticoltori Senesi Aretini, they fall very much in the ladder category and take it a bit further than that. They focus on producing high quality wines that reflect the regions and areas of Tuscany that the fruit comes from. Their growers members are located in just about every corner of Tuscany leading to an impressive number of wines labeled under nine different D.O.C. & D.O.C.G. designations of Tuscany as well as a hand full of I.G.T. designate bottlings. All under the guise of their longtime winemaker Mery Ferrara, alongside legendary enologist Maurizio Castelli, who also works with several other excellent estates throughout Tuscany including Le Ragnaie, Scopetone, & Castello Tricerchi.
Gatto Grosso is collaborative label and bottling between this incredible team at Cantina Viticoltori & Communal Brands. Melissa Monti Saunders, MW, owner and founder of Communal Brands is a true champion of sustainability in wine and a lover of wines that express where they come from. She has several labels that she imports that are similar collaborations like the one for Gatto Grosso, all championing traditions in a particular region and showcasing a wine of place. Along with the Gatto Grosso label, Communal & Cantina Viticoltori have also created two other wines including a white counterpart to Gatto Grosso labeled, Gatto Canzo Vino Bianco and a 3L box wine of Sangiovese called Volpina.
farming & Philosophy…
Sustainability and sense of place are at the heart of all the wines produced at Cantina Viticoltori. The fruit is all hand harvested and goes through fermentation with natural yeasts. Cellar techniques very from wine to wine, but as a whole the wines are produced with minimal intervention. The finished wines are generally lightly filtered, dependant on the cuvée and only limited amounts of SO2 are ever used during the elevage, mostly just before bottling.
Vineyards…
The nature of the Cantina means that the vineyards consist of many small family held parcels spread out across the region. All of the vineyards are farmed with sustainable practices, some hold certifications such as organic but many are simply farmed under organic &/or sustainable practices.
