Casa Caterina

One name that stands out within the Italian artisanal sparkling wine movement is undoubtedly that of Casa Caterina, a family-run winery located in Monticelli Brusati, in the northeastern part of Franciacorta. The estate was founded in the 1980s by the Del Bono family, a farming family still leading the winery today with brothers Emilio and Aurelio, sons of Francesco and Caterina. Although they fall within the production area, the Del Bono's have decided not to label their wines as Franciacorta since their viticultural and oenological approach and the nonconformist style of bubbles exceed the canons imposed by the production regulations, in which the Del Bono's have never mirrored themselves.

Casa Caterina's vineyards extend over about 7 hectares, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay leading the way. The vines benefit from the clay-limestone matrix of the soils and the skilled and passionate care of the Del Bono family, which has been firmly following the dictates of biodynamic agriculture since the early years of the new millennium. The same artisanal approach is adopted in the winery, where all fermentations, including those occurring in the bottle for frothing, are entrusted solely to indigenous yeasts. Moreover, the use of enzymes, additives and oenological aids is categorically excluded, as is the use of exogenous sugars for second fermentations and dosages. In fact, only frozen must is used in bottle refermentation, while top-ups are performed with the same wine. The Del Bono family's goal is therefore to offer the purest and most authentic expression the terroir has to offer, without any external contamination. The stays on the lees in glass are then very prolonged, with a minimum of 48 months up to a good 10 years.

Thus is born the vast and assorted selection of Casa Caterina's Metodo Classico sparkling wines, composed of bubbles capable of formidably combining vibrant character, independent identity and sublime quality. These are forthright and pristine interpretations capable of enrapturing the mind and senses from the first taste, the result of a careful, meticulous and spontaneous production process.