Kante

The Carso district of southeastern Friuli, just outside of Trieste, is a unique micro-climate sandwiched between the Adriatic Sea to the south, the Alps to the north, the low hills of Collio to the west, and the Balkan peninsula to the east. The temperatures are cool at night and the grey limestone is everywhere and in abundance. In this near-perfect combination of climate and terreno, Edi Kante produces wines that are poised, solid, fresh, and brimming with the character of both the chosen grape and the stark limestone soil of Carso. The Kante style is born not only of his incredibly energetic, passionate, mad-scientist like personality, but also of the inherent characteristics of Carso and his deliberate decision to allow these characteristics to shine through rather than be dominated by wine-making technique.

Kante was born a contadino in this rugged area of northeastern Italy, at the crossroads of Italian, Slovenian, and Croatian culture today and historically at the crossroads of the Venetian and Austro-Hungarian cultures. Taking over from his father, Edi began to bottle the family estate's wines separately by varietal in the late 1980s. After experimenting with various styles, including being a pioneer of the orange wine movement, he settled on the direction he has followed for almost two decades: making pure, consistent wines that reflect their region, stand the test of time, and above all, provide a lot of pleasure at table. Kante ages his white wines for a year in older barrels, then six months or more in stainless steel on the lees, then bottles them unfiltered. All takes place in an incredible three-story cellar carved out of solid stone beneath his house. The ability of his wines to age and improve consistently is uncommon for Italian white wine, and he always has plenty of older magnums on hand to prove this point. Kante’s limited red wine production is mostly focused on Terrano, a local Friulian grape related to Refosco that he ages in large older casks, and Pinot Nero only in select years when conditions are truly favorable. Kante is also dedicated to sparkling wine production in the Champagne Method or Metodo Classico, and has been refining this skill for several decades. He produces a spumante bianco based on Chardonnay and Malvasia, and a rosato from Pinot Nero, both with zero dosage. The most exciting part of Kante’s production are his selezione wines. Released in small quantities from select vintages, these are small lots that Kante has selected in the cellar and aged extensively in bottle before release. They typically have between 8 and 10 years of age upon release and can be drunk upon release or aged further.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Vitovska IGT Venezia Giulia	Vitovska	19 years average	Clay and Limestone	4 ha
Malvasia IGT Venezia Giulia	Malvasia	19 years average	Clay and Limestone	3 ha
Chardonnay IGT Venezia Giulia	Chardonnay	14 years average	Clay and Limestone	1.8 ha
Sauvignon IGT Venezia Giulia	Sauvignon Blanc	14 years average	Clay and Limestone	2.2 ha
Spumante Metodo Classico “Dosaggio Zero”	50% Chardonnay, 50% Malvasia	15 years average	Clay and Limestone	1.5 ha
Spumante Rosato Metodo Classico “Dosaggio Zero”	Pinot Nero	10 years average	Clay and Limestone	1.5 ha
Chardonnay “La Bora di Kante”	Chardonnay	20 years average	Clay and Limestone	N/A
Vitovska Selezione	Vitovska	8 years average	Clay and Limestone	N/A
Sauvignon Selezione	Sauvignon	20 years average	Clay and Limestone	N/A
Pinot Nero Selezione	Pinot Nero	25 years average	Limestone	1.5 ha
Terrano IGT Venezia Giulia	Terrano	2 years average	Clay and Limestone	1 ha
Rosso IGT Venezia Giulia	1/3 Terrano, 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1/3 Merlot	2 years average	Clay and Limestone	N/A
Chardonnay “KC” IGT Venezia Giulia	Chardonnay	25 years average	Red clay	.5 ha
Malvasia “KM” IGT Venezia Giulia	Malvasia	10 years average	Red Clay	.4 ha
Sauvignon “KS” IGT Venezia Giulia	Sauvignon Blanc	25 years average	Red Clay	1 ha
IGT Venezia Giulia Rosso “Ludvik”	40% Pinot Nero, 30% Terrano, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot	20 years average	Red Clay, Limestone	2 ha
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Grapes are harvested by hand
• Wines are neither fined nor filtered
• No new oak is used and the barrels are up to 18 years old

Vitovska IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 6 more months in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered

Malvasia IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 6 more months in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered

Chardonnay IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 6 more months in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered

Sauvignon IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 6 more months in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered

Spumante Metodo Classico “Dosaggio Zero”:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Aged in bottle for 1 year before disgorgement
• No dosage

Spumante Rosato Metodo Classico “Dosaggio Zero”:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Aged in bottle for 1 year before disgorgement
• No dosage

Chardonnay “La Bora di Kante”:
• Grapes are carefully selected in the vineyards for this particular bottling
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 24 months in old barrels
• Bottle unfiltered
• Aged in bottle for 5 years

Vitovska Selezione:
• Grapes are carefully selected in the vineyards for this particular bottling
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 6 more months in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered
• Aged in bottle for 7 years

Sauvignon Selezione:
• Grapes are carefully selected in the vineyards for this particular bottling
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Aged for 12 months in old barrels
• Then aged for 4 years in stainless steel tank
• Bottle unfiltered
• Aged in bottle for 6 months

Pinot Nero Selezione
• Vineyards planted at 900 feet above sea level
• Grapes are destemmed
• Fermentation in stainless steel for 14 days
• Aged for 3 years in 250L French oak barrels (10% new)
• Aged 2 years in bottle
• Bottled unfiltered

Terrano IGT Venezia Giulia
• Terrano is a sub-variety of the Refosco family, native to Venizia Giulia and western Slovenia
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Maceration last 3 weeks
• Aged for 36 months in old barrels
• Bottle unfiltered

Rosso IGT Venezia Giulia
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Maceration last 3 weeks
• Aged for 24 months in old barrels
• Bottle unfiltered

Chardonnay “KC” IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Fermentation in stainless steel for 3 weeks
• Aged in stainless steel
• No malolactic fermentation
• No sulfur added

Malvasia “KM” IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Fermentation in stainless steel for 3 weeks
• Aged in stainless steel
• No malolactic fermentation
• No sulfur added

Sauvignon “KS” IGT Venezia Giulia:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• Fermentation in stainless steel for 3 weeks
• Aged in stainless steel
• No malolactic fermentation
• No sulfur added

IGT Venezia Giulia Rosso “Ludvik”:
• Vineyards planted at over 800 feet above sea level
• A multi-vintage wine; current bottling made from 2015 and 2016 vintages
• Grapes macerate for 14 days
• Vintages are aged separately: 2015 vintage aged for 4 years, 2016 vintage aged for 3 years
• Vintages are blended and held for 1 week before bottling
• Wine aged in barriques and 25-HL botti