Vigna Flor
Monselice (PD) - VENETO
Vigna Flor is a tiny artisanal estate located in the Colli Euganei sub-region of Veneto. It’s an area famous for its gentle, cone-shaped hills and a volcanic landscape dating back over 40 million years. The hills provide extraordinary views over a geometric array vineyards, olive groves, and orchards. Established in 2020, and run by husband and wife Francesca Gozzonspired and Davide Boldrin, the two-hectare vineyard is named after their daughter Flora.
For over 15 years Francesca and Davide have run restaurants in Spain and Italy, and a wine shop in Monselice (also in the Colli Euganei). In that time, they learned a lot about natural wines, and were eventually inspired to try making wine their own. Davide worked at Marco Buratti’s Farnea winery in 2013 and both spent time there in 2014. More recently they have worked at Castagnucoli with Nicola Del Santo, whose father was a pioneer of organic farming. Nicola provided them with cellar space to make their first vintage in 2019.
The vineyard sits on a mix of calcareous and volcanic soil, with the strong presence of basalt, rhyolite and trachyte. The vines date back to the early 1960s and 70s. Different grape varieties can be found in the same row.
Francesca and Davide define their approach to viticulture as ‘synergistic agriculture’. It applies biodynamics principles inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his approach to natural farming, and Bill Mollison, the ‘father of permaculture’. Their goal is find a deeper connection between people, land and place.
In the cellar, de-stemming is done by hand and the grapes are crushed by foot. Fermentation is mainly carried out in fibreglass and stainless steel containers, with lots of whole berries in the must. Most of the grapes are harvested and fermented together. ‘Punching down’ is carried out twice daily. Once fermentation is complete the wines are gravity racked. Only 2 rounds of racking take place before bottling. Sulphur is not used at any stage of the winemaking process, nor any other chemical substance.
Francesca and Davide work as naturally as possible. The result is unadulterated wines full of energy, made with lots of passion and tons of integrity.
