Cà de Noci was established in 1993 by the brothers Giovanni and Alberto Masini on their family’s estate near Reggio Emilia. For more than thirty years, the family has had a walnut forest on the property (hence the name “Walnut Farm”). In the 700’s the province of Emilia Romagna was known to have over 100 different grape varieties. The Masinis wanted to plant local traditional grapes that were slowly disappearing, among them the Spergola, Malbo Gentile and Montericco grapes.

The vines are planted in 5 hectares of rocky limestone soil along the Crostolo river. The dryness, and general poorness of the soils help give these grapes all their powerful flavor and minerality. All the vines were planted in the 90’s and they are cultivated using certified organic methods and only minimal treatments of natural copper sulphate and decoctions from plant or animal sources are used.

The grapes are hand-harvested in small caskets at maximum ripeness, with healthy skins, then destemmed and left in vats in the cool outside air overnight for extraction. The caps are punched down in the morning and the maceration on the skins continues for a long period, for some wines more than a week. The grapes are then pressed on a manual press and racked into wood barrels or neutral vats. The wines are aged without filtration or fining.

The Spergola grape, due to its high acid levels, has always had a reputation as fine material for sparkling wine. For many years it was considered a type of Sauvignon, but has now been genetically proven to be a grape variety of its own. The Masinis make two distinct wines that are 100% Spergola: First, there is a metodo tradizionale sparkling wine called Riserva dei Fratelli, which is refermented in bottle using only the lees of the wine and has no dosage. The second wine, Querciole, is a natural re-fermentation in bottle to give a frizzante style.

The wines should be served at cellar temperature (56 degrees F) and poured somewhat gently. Enjoy these with a range of dishes, but fatty meats and dry sausages are winners.