Pievalta is one of the most interesting and respected of Italian wineries in the production of white wines. In 2002 Barone Pizzini (first Organic winery in Franciacorta) crosses the border of Franciacorta and chooses the region of Castelli di Jesi recognizing the great potential of Verdicchio as being one of the most important indigenous grape varieties of Italy.
They purchase first 24 hectares in Maiolati Spontini and after just a few months another 5,5 hectares on Monte Follonica in San Paolo di Jesi. The cellar and vineyards are located in the heart of the Jesi castle area, an ideal area for wine production in the Marche, a coastal region of central Italy. The estate extends over 26 hectares in two vineyards with different soil and climate characteristics. The part of the vineyard surrounding the cellar, where the most elegant, fresh, mineral wines come from, has chalky clay soil. Pievalta uses natural agricultural methods, such as Biodynamics, and Verdicchio grapes to fulfill its project to create wines that express the harmonic uniqueness of the area. After several years of research and experimenting, today Pievalta wines are Demeter certified: a guarantee of quality, authenticity and expressiveness for genuine, joyful, easy-to-drink wines.
The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically using legume cover crops between the rows and biodynamic preparations that facilitate the formation of fertile humus and bolster plant growth while respecting the terroir.
Despite the great challenges it poses from an operational standpoint, nearly all of the work carried out in the vineyards is done by hand, like bunch pruning, de-shooting, and disbudding.
The approach is aimed at achieving the highest level of quality within the context of a given vintage.
Techniques include: limited pruning, mine-sourced sulfur and copper applied in a maximum dosage of 3 kg per hectare per year (half of the maximum amount allowed in organic farming), no fertilizers or irrigation, picking times that vary from parcel to parcel and hand picking in small crates to ensure that the grape skins do not break.
In the cellar, Pievalta preserves the work carried out in the vineyards, the grapes as they are transformed into wine by making sure that technical intervention is always one step behind the expression of the terroir and the grape variety. Since 2009, all wines have been vegan certified.
Biodynamic viticulture means bringing life into the vineyard by helping it to reactivate the forces that put it in relation with the sky and the earth.
To work exclusively with natural preparations and organic and vegetal compounds so as to facilitate the formation of fertile humus and revitalize plant growth, to create a wine that truly expresses the unique character of the place where it is grown and the vintage.