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Winemaking

Serrapetrona is a small town in the countryside around Macerata, at the heart of central Italy, where the mountain has preserved its natural origins: the cold chill of winter and the summer Mediterranean sun have created a natural balance between man and nature. This is the homeland of the “Vernaccia di Serrapetrona DOCG” wine.

Love for the land, experience and tradition in cultivating vines have nourished the entrepreneurial enthusiasm of the Quaquarini’s family along the years. Alberto is the founder of this family concern; assisted by Francesca, his wife, he has defied the occurrences of life, and together they have set solid foundations for the future generations. Monica, Luca and Mauro have accepted the challenge and at present run the business, co-operating with each other in a sort of natural symbiosis. Alberto Quacquarini is the leading manufacturer of Vernaccia di Serrapetrona Docg that is produced in 35 hectares of vineyards planted with Vernaccia Nera - Black Vernaccia.

THE VERNACCIA DI SERRAPETRONA DOCG

The Vernaccia di Serrapetrona is produced using the superior Vernaccia Nera, or black Vernaccia. The vineyards are small with little foliage and few grapes, and the Alberto Quacquarini wine business can count on no more than 8.000 kilograms of Vernaccia grapes per hectare. Only the grapes grown and cultivated by Alberto Quacquarini are used in the winemaking. The high point of this wine is the special method of vinification which makes it the only Docg red sparkling wine undergoing three distinct and consecutive fermentations.

THE METHOD OF WINE

The intense quality of the grapes is obtained in places of semidarkness, where the grapes are hung up and left to dry for 3 months. The new grape-picking takes place in January: the must from the grapes is a fiery ruby red, sweet and thick like honey. This is added to ferment in the October wine where the freshness of the recent harvest is blended with the richness of the dried grapes. The new wine, which has matured in cool fresh cellars, is left to ferment further still to obtain the sparkling wine. In this way this natural sparkling wine acquires its final precious crucial flavours. The dense ruby red consistent effervescence captures different scents and aromas, those of the refined perlage of an elite sparkling wine with the simplicity of clear, well-defined flavour. The long drawn-out process makes it impossible to put the product on the market until one year and a half has gone by since the vintage.