Steiger-Kalena

Molise is perhaps Italy's least-known region, and while its small wine culture is still largely unknown beyond its borders, this mountainous enclave tucked between Abruzzo and Puglia is nonetheless home to traditions of its own, its undulating, sunbaked terrain offering enormous potential for fine wine. After years living abroad, Giulio Steiger and his wife Margarita settled in Casacalenda, a commune situated roughly halfway between the capital city of Campobasso and the Adriatic coast, determined to create high-quality wines in Giulio’s native land. From 2015 to 2018, they planted twelve hectares of the region's typical grape varieties—Montepulciano, Aglianico, and the native Tintilia—on west-facing slopes of limestone, clay, and sand. With a climate influenced by both the Apennines and the sea, along with the moderating effect of the nearby Lake Guardialfiera, this picturesque area has all the makings of a great wine terroir. Recognizing this potential, Giulio and Margarita built their azienda from the ground up, meticulously planning each step and refusing to take any shortcuts along the way.

In an untouched region of tremendous natural beauty, it is only normal that the farming philosophy at Steiger-Kalena is centered around sustainability. Giulio eschews chemical treatments in his vines, leaving a natural cover crop and enriching the soils with his own grape pomace and manure from their farm animals. Upon completing a cellar built into the hillside, featuring a battery of old casks, concrete tanks, and a vertical basket press acquired in Champagne, he was able to welcome his first harvest in 2019. Fermentations occur spontaneously without temperature control, and the wines are aged in concrete and neutral wood, where they rest until the unfiltered bottling. Soulful delights with novel flavors and textures from a previously unheralded land, the first releases from this ambitious young couple make a very strong case for Italy’s second-smallest region. We are thrilled to welcome Steiger-Kalena as the first-ever grower from Molise in the KLWM family.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Vino Rosato “Passatella”	85% Montepulciano, 10% Aglianico, 5% Tintilia	Planted in 2016	Clay, limestone	12 ha total
Vino Rosso “Passatella”	50% Montepulciano, 35% Aglianico, 15% Tintilia	Planted in 2016	Clay, limestone	12 ha total
Vino Rosato “Torre-Kalena”	80% Montepulciano, 20% Aglianico	Planted in 2016	Loam, sand	12 ha total
Vino Rosso “Torre-Kalena”	90% Montepulciano, 7% Aglianico, 3% Tintilia	Planted in 2016	Clay	12 ha total
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

• Vineyards sit at 300-350 meters elevation and mostly face west
• Farming is organic, without chemical treatments
• Natural cover crop and fertilizer from their own grape pomace and farm animals
• Vines are trained high in the traditional pergola molisana system
• Fruit is hand-harvested
• Grapes are fully de-stemmed
• Spontaneous fermentations with native yeasts and no temperature control for 8-10 days
• Tiny doses of sulfur following fermentation and before bottling
• No green harvest to avoid excessive concentration and high alcohol
• Wines are bottled unfiltered
• “Passatella” refers to a card game from the 17th century that is still played in Casacalenda; the wine’s easy-drinking nature makes it a perfect pairing for this game

Vino Rosato “Passatella”
• Fermented in open-top concrete casks
• Grapes are immediately pressed with a traditional Champagne press
• Ages about 8-9 months in concrete casks

Vino Rosso “Passatella”
• Fermented in open-top wood casks
• Ages about 6 months in large neutral oak casks

Vino Rosato “Torre-Kalena”
• Fermented in 500L botte with regular bâttonage in the first months
• Ages in older, 500L botte for 12 months and 6 months in bottle
• Grapes come from the highest and best part of the vineyard with south/western exposure

Vino Rosso “Torre-Kalena”
• Fermented in open top wood casks
• Grapes are pressed with a traditional Champagne press as soon as the fermentation ends (after 10-12 days)
• Ages for 24 months in 50 hL wood casks and about 12 months in bottle
• Grapes come from the lower part of the hill, with western exposure

MISCELLANEA

Molise is Italy’s second-smallest region by both population and area, after Valle d’Aosta. It ranks sixteenth out of twenty in output by volume and seventeenth in vineyard area planted.

The name Steiger-Kalena is a combination of Giulio and Margarita’s surname with the old name for Casacalenda, Kalena.