producer profile

<p>Pedecastello, or &ldquo;foot of the castle&rdquo;, is a small <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticultural</glossary> project from Alex della Vecchia. Nestled in the mountains of Tambre, a <glossary term="Commune" title="322">commune</glossary> of Belluno, the <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> has been worked by Alex&rsquo;s family for over a century. For generations they raised cattle, first for milk and then for meat.</p> <p>When Alex&rsquo;s grandfather passed away, he inherited the land with his uncle. They worked a total of three days together before deciding to go separate ways over a fundamental disagreement: Alex wanted to butcher and transform the meat to sell individual cuts and his uncle wanted to sell them whole. At the same time, Alex had been dreaming of making his own wine and began wondering if he could use his part of the property to plant vines.</p> <p>Shaped by high&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Elevation" title="419">elevation</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> grassy, fertile soils and a cool climate, the region has historically been dedicated to cattle, notably for&nbsp;production of&nbsp;the famed <glossary term="DOP" title="402">DOP</glossary> Piave cheese. <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">Viticulture</glossary> remains extremely rare, with roughly 60 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> planted at the time of this writing.</p> <p><em>&ldquo;Making wine in Belluno is 100% a result of climate change. 30 years ago, it would have been way too cold.&rdquo;</em></p> <p>Inexperienced but full of conviction, Alex decided to plant a <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> in 2010. Around this time, he met the late Ernesto Cattel who, in the early years of shaping his Costadil&agrave; project, was looking to acquire some cattle. Alex seized the opportunity to collaborate with Ernesto and, hoping to learn how to make wine, began working full-time with Costadil&agrave;. As his time at Costadił&agrave; blossomed into head of <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and eventually running the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> after Ernesto&rsquo;s passing, he kept cultivating his own <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> and lending a helping hand with the cattle.</p> <p>Alex currently grows two <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines at Pedecastello: the aforementioned <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> planted in 2010 and another split 50/50 between <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary> and PIWI (a German, fungal resistant <glossary term="Hybrid" title="532">hybrid grape</glossary>) planted in 2017. The soils, composed of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary> and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> are very fertile,&nbsp;with <glossary term="Mother Rock" title="690">mother rock</glossary> a full two meters below the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Topsoil" title="1032">top soil</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Alex does not add&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover crops</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but lets grass grow wild and encourages&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Biodiversity" title="1162">biodiversity</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> With an obvious assist from the cattle on hand, manure is used to <glossary term="Fertilizer" title="442">fertilize</glossary> the soils.</p> <p>Alex has been experimenting with various methods of still and sparkling <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinifications</glossary> but so far has chosen to focus primarily on <glossary term="Methode Ancestrale" title="1311"><em>ancestrale</em></glossary><em> </em>sparklers. While in the same <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> vein as Costadil&agrave; (in fact they are made in the same <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>), the <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroirs</glossary> and use of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> distinguish &ldquo;Pedecastello&rdquo; as a rounder expression marked by red fruit. Alex <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottled</glossary> his first <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary>/PIWI <glossary term="Blend" title="168">blend</glossary> in 2021 and will continue to do so in future&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>