Snap Shot of Dievole

2009-11-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

2009-10-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Harvest time is Here !!!!

Apart from the months of scientific preparation involved in planning the harvest time, Dievole also employs a more traditional method. Every year around the start of September, three of Dievole’s oldest vintners meet at sunrise, under the old oak tree, the point from which the whole estate can be viewed. One may ask why........ and the answer is somewhat complex and consists of tradition, habit and passion but the main reason is preparation.

Preparation for the imminent harvest is the most important time of the year for any wine producer. These men have been working this land for many years and can read it as easily as you or I read a book. During the last week of September the weather forecast looked good and the enologists grape tests proved promising. However, more than these quantifiable factors, all three men felt the moment was right, and each was in agreement that the

harvest should begin.

What they felt I cannot explain, however I do know that it is a feeling that

goes beyond weather forecasts and barometer readings, it is a connection between man and land, it is being able to hear and interpret what the land communicates to us, it is nature in its essence.

Cellar News

Vineyards all across Tuscany are breathing a sigh of relief as it seems that many are on course for an excellent harvest. Weather conditions have been near perfect so expectations are high for 2009 vintages. The winter was cold but not excessively, and no frosts were registered, fortunately none of this year’s hails storms touched the main Chianti Classico district, and the summer has been long, enabling extended growth and natural fermentation.

International News

The Chianti Classico Consortium is the first denomination in Italy to employ tactics involving ‘lower yields’ in order to combat the crisis. In an attempt to maintain prices and stabilize the market until the economic situation improves the Consortium has chosen to try “blockage strategy”, which involves keeping at least 20% of wine produced in the Chianti Classico DOCG region, so that stocks abroad will diminish thus stabilizing the prices.

Dievole News

Dievole welcomes a new general director this month, just in time for the harvest.

Label News

Novecento : Hazard and Opportunity

As if the decision of when to start harvesting is not ‘risky enough’, Dievole goes one step further in the strive for excellence. Our Chianti Classico Riserva “Novecento” is made from grapes picked at the latest possible moment, some years waiting as long as mid-November. The weather may be getting colder, but the temperature of the enologist will be rising due to the great risks involved in such a late harvest, and the high probability of failure. Levels of phenolic maturity, anthocyanins and concentration can all reach levels which will either create an outstanding vintage or a disappointing one. Novecento is probably Dievole’s most important label, and it perfectly sums up the meaning of the estate ; better to risk failure to create something very special, than to play it safe and create something mediocre. No one ever said it would be easy creating perfection.......

Dievole....

Snap Shot of Dievole