Davide Vignato

One of our most “off-the-beaten-track” discoveries of the past few years is the azienda of young Davide Vignato, hailing from the small village of Gambellara in the Veneto, east of Verona in the province of Vicenza. Gambellara has the distinction of being the lesser-known neighbor of nearby Soave. The grape, Garganega, is the same, known for producing one of Italy's greatest white wines. The terroir, while also volcanic, is different and very distinct. Compact horizontal bands of dark basalt are just below the surface, and contribute to impressions of high tension and stoniness. These are brighter and zingier wines than the more rounded and honeyed expression of Garganega in Soave.

The family history behind Davide’s wines began when his grandfather, Rinaldo, purchased a small plot of land in the hills of Gambellara and planted vines. Davide’s father, Gian Domenico, was the first in the family to make wine from those grapes, and as of 1997, Davide introduced organic and later biodynamic farming to the vineyards with the goal of producing deeply mineral wines that would legitimately reflect Gambellara’s unique soils.

The Vignato estate is tiny, only a few hectares, all hand-worked by the Vignato family, including a large percentage of labor-intensive, traditionally-trained pergola vines. The grapes are harvested by hand, fermentation is spontaneous, and the wines are aged on fine lees. These wines represent not only authentic and compelling terroir expression, but also great values.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Spumante Metodo Classico “Cuvée dei Vignato”	90% Durella, 10% Chardonnay	Durella: 20 years average Chardonnay: 15 years average	Durella: Volcanic, basalt soil Chardonnay: Alluvial, Volcanic, basalt soil	6 ha total
Veneto Garganega Frizzante “Primo Incontro”	Garganega	25 years average	Volcanic, basalt soil	6 ha total
Veneto Garganega “El Gian”	Garganega	25 years average	Volcanic, basalt soil	6 ha total
Veneto Garganega “Col Moenia”	Garganega	40 years average	Volcanic, basalt soil	6 ha total
Veneto Garganega “Sera”	Garganega	50 years average	Volcanic, basalt soil	6 ha total
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

Spumante Metodo Classico “Cuvée dei Vignato”
• Hand harvested
• Grapes are fermented separately in stainless steel tank
• Ages on fine lees in stainless steel tank for 5 months until bottling for second fermentation
• Ages in bottle for 50 months before disgorgement

Veneto Garganega Frizzante “Primo Incontro”
• Hand harvested
• First of two harvests occur in mid-September, grapes are pressed and fermented in stainless steel tank
• Second of two harvests occur in late-September, grape bunches are hung to dry (“Picai” technique) until February
• Dried grapes are then pressed and the juice is added to the wine from the first harvest
• Wine is then bottled and a second fermentation occurs in bottle, creating a frizzante wine
• Wine is not disgorged (sui lieviti)

Veneto Garganega “El Gian”
• Hand harvested
• Fermented in stainless steel tank
• Ages on fine lees in stainless steel tank for 5 months until bottling

Veneto Garganega “Col Moenia”
• Hand harvested
• Fermented in stainless steel tank
• Ages on fine lees in stainless steel tank for 7 months until bottling
• Sourced from the domaine’s highest elevation vineyards

Veneto Garganega “Sera”
• Grapes are the last to be hand harvested in mid/late October
• Grapes macerate for 120 days on their skins, but seeds are removed after just three days so not to extract too much tannin
• During fermentation, there are three punch downs per day. After fermentation, weekly battonage
• Grapes are pressed from skins and spend 10 months on the lees in stainless tank before bottling