Fantini Gran Cuvee Bianco Vino Spumante Brut
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Pairs well with fish based appetizers, sushi, and Asian cuisine. Also works well as an aperitif.
Fantini (by Farnese) wines are a reflection of the colors of Abruzzo, painting wonderful landscapes of taste and living for the love of the endless vineyards that are protected by Mount Majella. The vineyards are located on the hillside and stretch from the sea to a soaring 9,843 feet. The vineyards enjoy optimum exposure and an excellent microclimate which explains why the grapes grow so well in this area.
Fantini employs the most advanced technology as it is absolutely necessary to (enable the features of the grapes to be transferred intact to the bottle). It is Farnese’s belief that excessive enthusiasm while working in the vineyards is pointless if the winery is unable to maintain certain standards when bottling. In the winery’s words, “We believe we cannot produce a great wine without constant supervision on behalf of expert winemakers which is the reason why in each vintage six successful winemakers live in perfect harmony with the grapes that arrive at the winery and are turned into great wines.”
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
A warm, Mediterranean vine-growing paradise, in Abruzzo, the distance from mountains to seaside is relatively short. The Apenniness, which run through the center of Italy, rise up on its western side while the Adriatic Sea defines its eastern border.
Wine composition tends to two varieties: Abruzzo’s red grape, Montepulciano and its white, Trebbiano. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo can come in a quaffable, rustic and fruity style that generally drinks best young. It is also capable of making a more serious style, where oak aging tames its purely wild fruit.
Trebbiano in Abruzzo also comes in a couple of varieties. Trebbiano Toscana makes a simple and fruity white. However when meticulously tended, the specific Trebbiano d’Abruzzo-based white wines can be complex and long-lived.
In the region’s efforts to focus on better sites and lower yields, vine acreage has decreased in recent years while quality has increased.