Spring 2017
forerunner of winemaking excellence
The Art of a Checkmate!
The 99/100 Point Beauty
Bees & Olive Trees
Querciabella Magazine Spring 2017 © 2017 Querciabella Società Agricola Querciabella SpA Via di Barbiano 17 50022 Greve in Chianti fi · Italy Tel + 39 055 8592 7777 www.querciabella.com Wine photographs by Walter Prina. Bees & cover crop photographs by Catiuscia Minori & Marco Torriti. Illustrations by Giuseppe Di Lupo.
Querciabella in Maremma bees enjoying plentiful cover crops
Contents 4 The 99/100 Point Beauty
7 Bees & Olive Trees
Querciabella Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 Awarded 99/100 points by Doctor Wine Greve in Chianti – Querciabella’s Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 has been bestowed the great honour of being selected as one of Italy’s most prized wines with the impeccable score of 99/100 points bestowed by Daniele Cernilli of Doctor Wine. Querciabella is proud to receive such an accolade by Italy’s foremost wine critic and a magnifying force for one of the country’s greatest patrimonies. In Cernilli’s forthcoming wine guide Guida Essenziale ai Vini d’Italia 2017, only five wines reached this top score, with our Riserva ‘13 standing out as the only wine representing the Chianti Classico denomination. Chianti Classico vintners could not have predicted that 2013 would end up being a classic vintage at the start of the year as the cool and wet weather conditions delayed the growing cycle. Yet the perfect day vs. night temperature variations, which occurred in late summer, ensured perfect phenolic ripeness, balanced by beautiful crisp acidity and highly charged aromatics. Our stellar team recognized the potential of 2013’s beautiful bounty of excellent fruit, and coddled it on the vines, throughout the cellar, and into the bottle. Querciabella has been an unwavering champion of the idea that with harmonious efforts towards nature and with hard earned finesse, the true expression of 100% sangiovese speaks to the most refined palate. Tastings of Querciabella Chianti Classico Riserva 2013, along with new vintages of Batàr, Camartina, Querciabella Chianti Classico and Mongrana can be enjoyed over the next few months at our official presentations at the Chianti Classico Collection in Florence, Vinitaly in Verona, and ProWein in Düsseldorf.
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“Varietal and elegant. Youthful, tense and aristocratic palate; great tense body, subtle tannins, lively and refined with a thin and very long finish. A perfect Chianti Classico!” — Daniele Cernilli, Doctor Wine
Querciabella Magazine ¡ Fall 2016
Querciabella in Maremma bees swarm
forerunner of winemaking excellence
Bees & Olive Trees The Wealth of Nature’s Diversity Querciabella’s Bee Sanctuary Querciabella holds roughly 32 hectares of vineyards on Maremma’s coast that are organically and biodynamically farmed according to bespoke principles that have characterized our winery’s philosophy for over three decades. This natural oasis has been sheltering a number of honeybee colonies since 2009. When Querciabella introduced colonies of bees to the Maremma estate it was a conscience decision in order to increase biodiversity and to send a message to the wine community that there is a need to protect pollinators from decline, principally caused by the industrial use of pesticides and climate change. Along with the introduction of hives, our winery launched a campaign called Bee Biodynamic with the aim of raising awareness amongst producers and consumers about the decline of pollinators, the negative effects of unnecessary chemicals and climate warming, the importance of bees in sustainable agriculture, and the benefits of biodynamic vineyard management. In speaking with Marco Torriti, Querciabella’s Operations Manager in Maremma, and with the estate’s Master Beekeeper, Catiuscia Minori, one is enlightened about the uniqueness of the Maremmana terroir and of humanely designed hive management protocols.
Questions & Answers with Marco Torriti & Catiuscia Minori Why is Maremma the appropriate place to offer sanctuary to bees and what makes this area unique from a biodiversity viewpoint? Marco: Maremma’s climate is in many respects ideal for bees. The proximity to the sea ensures mild temperatures, plants bloom all year round, the strong winds keep the air crisp and clean, and the sunlight has an unusual, beneficial intensity. In addition there is the absence of 'intensive agriculture’ and all of these characteristics combine to make a unique and special ecosystem. As well as grapes, we grow grains and vegetables on our Maremma estate and we have always had a vigorous green manure regime with a wide variety of cover crops that offer insects an ideal habitat.
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Top: Marco Torriti, Operations Manager Querciabella in Maremma. Above: Catiuscia Minori, Master Beekeeper Querciabella in Maremma.
Querciabella QuerciabellaMagazine Magazine· ·Spring Fall 2016 2017
Ultimately, I'm a very curious and compassionate person and, therefore, the study of bees makes me very enthusiastic, allowing me to approach the project in a holistic manner. What role do the pollinators play in the wine sector? Why are they fundamental? Catiuscia: Roughly 79% of Italian agricultural production in some way benefits from pollination. The greater the diversity of pollinators (polliniferous insects) the healthier the state of the winery’s ecosystem. In our small way, we want to contribute to the wealth of diversity of insect species which benefits our territory as well as our own farm, by boosting the health of plants and soil. Marco: The importance of bees is not only confined to their role as pollinators, that would mean looking at a partial view of the world, like horses with blinders. There is a special energy and a glowing beauty in a cover crop in bloom: we could never grow something good in a hostile and ugly environment. For example, the olive trees that stand near a beehive continuously produce abundant fruit. There is a special synergy in this relationship that goes beyond mere pollination, a synergy that awaits scientific discovery. These kinds of fascinations are why, for me, bees are absolutely essential. What distinguishes Querciabella’s vegan management protocols of leaving the honey to the bees? Catiuscia: Over the years we progressed to not wanting to stress the bees, so we implemented a different form of farming that exclusively provides a sanctuary in which they can thrive. The ‘top bar’ hive dwelling design was our first self-sufficient choice, which allows the honey bees to be free to build their own combs and we do not harvest their essential stocks of honey, propoli and wax, which all have properties that keep them healthy and fit. This year we built Japanese style hive dwellings that keep their freedom and the preservation of their species in mind. When bees swarm on our property, we do not try to control them. Instead, we limit ourselves to their recovery, as they do not always find a safer sanctuary than ours to settle. In this way, we never have too many colonies that ‘have to’ produce honey. Every year our bees follow their natural instinct to swarm and they divide in order to further their genetic strength and to adjust their population to what the territory is able support. How do bees benefit from organic/biodynamic farm management? Marco: Intensive agriculture has adopted practices that belong to industrial production. We can’t call this farming – meaning planting, growing and nurturing something – because it’s just exploitation of resources. Our winery doesn’t apply biodynamic management alone: we farm our land with respect and dedication, and give our bees a safe and healthy habitat where they find shelter from the poisonous, toxic chemicals used in most ‘conventional’ agricultural practices. 8
Above: Malva flower and Querciabella bee. Below: Illustration by Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Di Lupo.
Visit Querciabella & discover the beauty of Chianti Classico. BOOK YOUR TOUR & GUIDED TASTING by e-mail: visits@querciabella.com · by phone: + 39 055 8592 7777