Mongarda "Col Fondo" Veneto, Italy 2022

FROM BOWLER WINE:

THE WINE: 95% Glera, 5% Verdiso/Bianchetta Trevigiana from a single vineyard planted in 1950 at 350-370m. Whole-cluster pressed; varieties co-harvested and co-fermented. 1st fermentation is spontaneous in concrete. Secondary fermentation in bottle using must from this same vineyard and vintage. Undisorged. No residual sugar. 8,000 bottles produced.

THE PRODUCER: Back in 2016, this small, family-owned, nature-oriented producer of “real Prosecco” absolutely blew us away in a massive blind tasting divided by category (col fondo, brut, extra dry, etc), outclassing a number of other producers—some more respected, others more famous—in every flight. Knowing that moments like these don’t happen often, we contacted them right away and found the people to be as genuine as the wines.

The Mongarda story began in 1978, when Bruno Tormena decided to dedicate himself full-time to the career of vignaiolo. As a youngster he learned the art of vine cultivation while working with his grandfather in family vineyards in the locality of Mongarda, from which the estate takes its name. Bruno transmitted his passion to his son, Martino, who has run the estate since 2011. Martino is a recent graduate of the enology school in Conegliano and he has intensified his family’s commitment to their land and the quality of their wines.

Today, Mongarda has 5 hectares of woods and 12.5 hectares of vines, spread between the villages of Col San Martino, Farra di Soligo, Miane, and Valdobbiadene. This is the heart of the Valdobbiadene-Conegliano Prosecco Superiore zone. Mongarda’s vineyards are on extreme slopes with old vines and poor, rocky soils, a situation which forces them to be worked manually. The main variety is, of course, Glera, but the Tormena family has also kept the local heirlooms of Perera, Verdiso, Bianchetta, and Boschera, which are interspersed through the parcels and co-harvested and co-fermented with the Glera.

The vines, some dating back to 1950, are pampered: no weedkillers (undesired plants are mowed or removed by hand) and no synthetic fertilizers (instead, a biodynamic compost of grape skins, vine cuttings, and manure from grass-fed cows is made in-house). While Martino has set organic certification as a goal, he is also concerned with elevated use of copper, whose toxicity is perhaps the ‘elephant’ in the organic viticulture room, especially in wet, cool, climates. He includes natural extracts from stingle nettles and horsetail.

In the cellar, the objective is to let the vintage and vineyards speak. Grapes are pressed whole cluster, softly enough to avoid extracting bitterness. All primary fermentations are spontaneous. The use of dosage is not formulaic, but is adjusted according to each vintage and disgorgement. Total production is 30,000 bottles.