It’s a special moment in the hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, you can smell the scent of ripe grapes in the air. It is the season in which the most awaited event of the year is celebrated: the harvest.

In this article we will see where the centuries-old practice of wine production starts, a complex art that blends tradition and innovation and that implies a deep knowledge of the terroir, climate and care of the grape. And it is right here, in the vineyards, that everything begins.

THE PROSECCO HILLS OF CONEGLIANO AND VALDOBBIADENE

The Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2019, offer ideal conditions for the cultivation of Glera grape, the vine used for the production of Prosecco Superiore DOCG. The collection of the "golden fruit" varies from vineyard to vineyard depending on the geological and climatic characteristics of the terroir. Thanks to their experience, winemakers are able to judge when the grapes are ripe and ready to be harvested.

HAND HARVEST

A distinctive feature of Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG is that the harvest, due to the type of territory, mostly hilly with steep slopes, is done by hand. This allows us to select only the most healthy and ripe bunches. Among the rows, the teams of harvesters work meticulously cutting the bunches that are placed in baskets and transported quickly to the cellar. It is essential to avoid the grapes get too much sun and heat up, otherwise it could start a spontaneous fermentation that would be very difficult to control.

The harvest in Conegliano Valdobbiadene is much more than a simple grape picking: it is an exciting and fascinating ritual that is part of our history and our culture, it is a moment of contact between generations in which the elders passionately transmit their wine-making wisdom to the youngest. In the harvest are collected not only the fruits of nature but also those of the work, commitment and sacrifice of a whole year.

The new vintage is coming to life.

In the next article you will find out how.

We were visionaries

It was the 1970s when the idea came about that a sparkling wine produced from the grapes grown on our hills could conquer the world. Just then father and mother, Caterino and Urbana, plucked up the courage to buy a few hectares of vineyards in the hills of San Pietro di Feletto, in the centre of the production region of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore.
Here stands Sommariva Palazzo Rosso.

After some years those few hectares became 50 hectares, and today we are proud to be one of the first of the Denomination’s directly managed companies.
The baton was picked up and carried by daughter Cinzia who with passion and determination, renounced the role of accountant to take on that of an agricultural entrepreneur.
The 1990s arrived and she decided to build a modern, functional cellar in which to welcome the wine produced by our grapes. The single guiding principle was to produce Spumante Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore with a strong identity of the region.

Today it is the strength of a woman in command making precise and responsible choices, cultivating the vines, respecting the rhythms of nature, preserving and enhancing the uniqueness of our territory, (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and making exciting, characterful craft wines of refinement and elegance.