Fattoria COLLE VERDE’s red an white wines

From the vineyard to the final product

The Winery

The winery – built partly above ground and partly underground – dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. Since then, every year for nearly 500 years, a new vintage wine has been nurtured within these walls.

Continuously the winery has been modernized, adding state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to ensure high quality wine.

Aging in Oak, the final step of our winemaking process, adds depth and concentration to our wines by using small French-made barrels and larger Italian ones.
While most of our white grapes go directly from the press to small French oak barrels for fermentation, our Chardonnay and Trebbiano grapes undergo 48 hours of skin contact before barrel fermentation.

All red wines of Fattoria COLLE VERDE undergo extended (up to 21 days) skin contact to add richness, deep colour and intense flavours. Only after the completion of the fermentation, the actual aging process in barrels begins which lasts from 12 to 24 months. Finally, we insist on bottling our red wines without filtration to preserve their character, fruit and texture.

Wonderful stay at ColleVerde and amazing wine tasting and beautiful olive oil.

My husband and I recently visited COLLEVERDE and fell in love with the area! The estate and grounds are just beautiful. We enjoyed a wine tour and explanation of olive trees, the picking and pressing process and an olive oil tasting. We loved the cooking class and lunch with wine pairings after. We left yearning to visit again.

Excellent day, lots of fun and laughter. Lots of new friends. Highly recommend! Excellent wine!

Great place. Awesome tour of the winery and olive oil areas. My wife and I really enjoyed the wine tasting.

The Vineyards

The grapes used for our wines at Fattoria COLLE VERDE are all cultivated on our own vineyards located in Matraia, an area included in the appellations ‘Colline Lucchesi’ DOC and ‘Costa Toscana’ IGT.

In a wide valley dropping from 984 to 328 feet above sea level, we own about 35 acres of vines. Shielded by the Apennine Mountains from the harsh “Tramonte” winds blowing down from the North, the estate’s vineyards benefit from a distinctive microclimate cooled by mild sea breezes blowing off the Mediterranean Sea, which lies just 17 miles to the West.

This land has been farmed for hundreds of years and the present layout of the vineyard dates back to 1948. Since then it has undergone two major replantings. Currently the vineyard is dominated by San Giovese and Trebbiano grapes, which are both among Tuscany’s most traditional grape varietals.

Further varietals planted are Syrah and Chardonnay – grapes that have been introduced to this area by Napoleon’s sister Élisa Bonaparte (former Princess of Lucca and Piombino and Grand Duchess of Tuscany) about 200 years ago. Another type of our white grapes is Grechetto, which is primarily used to produce our “Passito” and whose origin goes back to the Etruscan age.

The Harvest

Right after the harvest, our grapes are stored in a refrigerated room at a temperature of 5/8°C. Before and after destemming, they go through a double hand selection in order to carefully eliminate all impurities.

Depending on the varieties, fermentation takes place in open oak vats, oak barrels or stainless steel vats. No selected yeast is added, as we believe that only “native” yeast can guarantee a full representation of our terroir.

Red grapes destined for our “Brania delle Ghiandaie” and “Nero della Spinosa” are pressed by feet as per a millenary tradition. All red wines of Fattoria COLLE VERDE undergo extended (up to 21 days) skin contact to add richness, deep color and intense flavors.

While most of our white grapes go directly from the press to small French oak barrels for fermentation, our Chardonnay and Trebbiano grapes undergo 48 hours of skin contact before barrel fermentation.