Tell us a little bit about yourself and your winery?

We are currently in the third generation of winemakers. The winery was founded in the late 1930s by my grandfather Pietro Dal Cero. During the 80s my father was running the winery but mainly selling bulk wine. It was in the early 2000 when both me and my brother Alessandro left our jobs to focus on the family business. It was a call back to our origin and family tradition.

That’s when we decided to shift the production style and produce our own branded wine, making our first bottle production in 2006 with Farinaldo Soave. We are only 4 people in the winery and we treat our vines with great love, as if they are part of our family. My brother Alessandro is the lead winemaker and I take care of the business operations.

How do you normally enjoy drinking wine?

“Il vino è festa” Wine for me is having fun, having a party with family and friends. I enjoy seeing my grandfather with his 2 litre wine bottle always on the table when we are having lunch or dinner.

Where is your winery located and what are the unique features of wines from your geographical location? 

Our winery is located in Roncà, and we are in the most eastern region of the Soave appellation. This region has a different geological origin when compared to the other areas of the Soave DOC, as we are in fact lying between 3 ancient volcanoes (not active anymore) Those dark, basaltic soils guarantee a spiking mineral notes in our wines.

How does local history and culture influence your lifestyle and winemaking?

We are very close to Valpolicella, home of Venetian red wines, but here the word “wine” means “white wine”. We drink white wine at any occasion and even with food that is usually paired with red wines. I consider myself very lucky and honoured, being born in a family of winemakers and I work hard everyday with this feeling of gratitude.

What is your best memory of winemaking, so far?

My best memory comes from my childhood. My brother and I were helping the family during the busiest season of the harvest. As of course we were too young to do the most technical work, we were mainly taking care of grape pressing and pumping the pomace (the grape skins and anything that is left after pressing the grapes) into big containers in our backyard.

Pomace in Veneto is used to produce grappa and due to high temperatures during the night it often starts to ferment, releasing some alcoholic vapours in the air. Our family dog had a sniff and was quite drunk! It was so funny for us to see that.

What do you think about the future of sustainable winemaking?

We are currently working to a full transition to BIO protocol and we aim to be certified in a couple of years. In 2021, 80% of our vineyards have 0 residual pesticides and are already fully bio, even though not yet certified by the italian authorities.