The vineyards
The old and abandoned vineyard of the BALZE D'ISTRICE was restored and replanted in 1996. The terraces of the small one hectare vineyard enjoy a south – south west exposure in a secluded and protected environment surrounded by oak and chestnut trees. The two varieties cultivated are Sangiovese and Merlot, both in a one armed cordon system and are trimmed to few buds. The land is cultivated in a low density disposition (2.50 x 0.80). The soil texture, composed of quartz-feldspathic sandstone mother-rock is deep, light, sandy-silty and rich in stony-fraction.
The second vineyard was realized on the new terraces during winter 2011 / 2012. The dry walls are obviously having a significant impact on the vegetation. We had selected Sangiovese and the autochthonous variety Foglia Tonda which had been grafted carefully on different rootstock taking into account the particularities of the soil and positioning on the terraces. The Sangiovese is cultivated as a single guyout while the Foglia Tonda is kept in a one armed cordon system. The density of the cultivation is adjusted to the terraces and purposely kept on the low side (2.10 x 0.65). The soil texture is predominantly sandstone.