One of the wineries we visited in Franciacorta was Ferghettina, a stunning establishment built on a gentle slope with gorgeous views over the surrounding vineyards.
Vine growing is a ancient tradition in the Franciacorta area. It began in Roman times.
Roberto Gatti was born nearby in 1953. He came from a family of farmers and vine growers. In his youth he worked for a local farmer with his father. After 20 years of gathering knowledge and experience he presented his first 2 wines after the harvest of 1991.
Ferghettina was born, taking the name from the area where the winery was built. Since that time Ferghettina has expanded enormously . As well as their own vineyard, the family rents plots of land to plant vines. They now have 200 hectares under organic cultivation. His 2 children, Laura and Matteo (both of whom have graduated in oenology) have joined him, his wife and partners in the business.
The current winery dates from 2002. We enjoyed a tour of the winery with the charming and knowledgeable Daniele.
The winery buildings and surroundings are gorgeous. Some areas are available for events.
The winery equipment is state of the art. These people know what they are doing.
Underground we were shown the enormous tanks holding the current developing wine. Grapes from each area of the vineyards are processed in their own tank!
Daniele showed us the Ferghettina square bottle, designed and patented by Roberto’s son Matteo. In the square bottle wines benefit from a contact surface between the wine and yeast almost twice and a half as large as the typical surface of a round bottle.
The bottles are expensive and more difficult to store than round ones. In the cellar we saw them stacked.
We were shown an exquisite room where samples of all vintages are stored. The winemakers can sample them as they age and record what they find. Nothing is left to chance.
Soon it was time for us to go to the tasting room to sample some of the wines…best part.
It was difficult to choose, they were all excellent, but we did leave with several bottles.
Thank you Ferghettina for a wonderful experience!
Booking ahead is necessary to visit the winery.
Ferghettina
(39) 030 7451212
info@ferghettina.it
That looks really grand. I trust Brandon left with a head full of ideas?
Seems you are having a jolly time with your boy … Enjoy!!
See you soon. Jx
By: Jan Williams on October 29, 2019
at 10:59 pm
Ferghettina is stunning. A lot of care and attention has gone into this winery, we loved it. Brandon is a great travelling companion.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 30, 2019
at 6:54 am
Magnificent experience for both you and Brandon, I would imagine. Bet with his experience and career path he would have been very impressed with such state of the art winery. Lucky you two. x
By: Dianne Cant on October 29, 2019
at 11:28 pm
We were both very impressed with Fergettina. Jim has a few more bottles to add to his collection.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 30, 2019
at 6:55 am
Love the square bottles
By: Elizabeth Valerie Litzow on October 30, 2019
at 12:06 am
They are amazing!
By: Debra Kolkka on October 30, 2019
at 6:55 am
It looks wonderful, but it must have been lots of work to get it to this level. They deserve every success.
By: Mulino Dominillo on October 30, 2019
at 5:13 am
We both appreciated the amount of work to build a winery like this.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 30, 2019
at 6:55 am