In a tiny northern area of Emilia-Romagna sits Piacanza. Sandwiched between Piedmont and Tuscany, the area was long known for the production of bulk, uninspiring wines, but with a history of creating sparkling wines as well, like their neighbour to the north, Lombardy. It was in this area that Felice Salamini decided to but a small, untended vineyard to craft fine wines from autocthonous Malvasia, Barbera and Bonarda. The rest of Emilia-Romagna is better known for Sangiovese and Colli Albani. 30 years and untold successes later, his son Lucio has taken over at the helm and their vineyards have expanded to almost 50 hectares.
The philosophy of the winery is simple; stress the vines, restrict yields, use organic and biodynamic principles and craft structured, elegant wines. To that end, there is no use of fertilizers or irrigation. The only pest-control or treatments of the vine that are used involve small amounts of copper or sulfur, none of which are used in production or bottling. The vines are purposely starved of nutrients and water, with severely restricted yields to thicken skins and long hang times to ensure full phenolic ripeness. The yields are restricted to one plant per bottle, meaning that the vine uses all of it’s energy to create the perfect berry. Hand-harvested and meticulously sorted, Luretta uses only Allier French oak for aging and fermentation where wood is called for. Their beautiful sparkling wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are hand-riddled and disgorged and rival the finest from Franciacorta.