History
The Manara family is one of the oldest among those working in the field of viticulture in the territory of Ziano Piacentino. Already in the thirties they participated in the important National Exhibition of Table Grapes held in Piacenza and rated among the first, with the brothers Vito and Tino willing to transform themselves to start producing wine grapes. It is in fact the Manara Brothers Winery that in 1939 put the first label of Gutturnio on the bottles. Today, the property situated in the hills of Ziano Piacentino Val Tidone extends for 30 hectares of vineyard. For some years the Manara winery has upgraded its facilities, aiming to link the baggage of traditional knowledge with modern winemaking techniques and take up, in the Piacenza and national landscape, a position based on the quality of a selected product, unique and unmistakable, with original characteristics.
The winemaking process is carried out according to strictly natural criteria depending on the type of grape. For the white grapes, the transport and winepressing operations take place very quickly. Once pressed the grapes are crushed immediately to remove the skins. The modern membrane press allows a gentle and progressive squeezing, with a precise selection and separation of the must at various stages of pressing. Only the highest quality must is used, the juice, which, thanks to the natural yeasts present on the grapes, is left to ferment slowly at a low temperature to retain its aromatic richness of each grapevine selected. For red grapes, the process includes a shoving-stripping process that allows one to separate the stalks from the berries. The pulp and skins therefore come into contact in the fermentation tank for more or less long periods. The maceration can last 15 days and during this period all the components that will ensure the noble wine flavour and the right level of tannin are extracted from the skins. After the racking off, the aging process takes place in steel containers for sparkling wines, while first and second passage barriques are used for still and structured wines. The whole winemaking process is done at the company premises, including the bottling.
For more information please visit: www.robertomanara.it
