Prosecco Spumante Superiore di Valdobbiadene, DOCG, “Lunatico” organic, Azienda Agricola Francesca Rizzi

A unique sparkling wine, pleasantly refreshing, lively, very precise, clear, clean with fragrances of white wildflowers, citrus fruit and green apples. Very fine and sophisticated on the palate with fresh fruity aromas. Excellent as an aperitif, with  hors d'oeuvre, light dishes or just for fun.

Azienda Agricola Francesca Rizzi

This is only a tiny vineyard that was part of Francesca’s family weekend house while they lived in Venice. 15 years ago Francesca started to cultivate the vines in her own way, which means organically without the use of chemicals and artificial fertilizers. The house and the vineyard are on the hilltop overlooking the plains of Veneto where the lower priced wines (less work, higher yields, less quality) are produced. The vineyard itself is far away from the others and separated by its altitude, trees and bushes, so it can’t be polluted. This is exactly what we are looking for and how we interpret organic farming. The vineyard is difficult to access and hard to work in because the slopes are so steep that no machines can be used. Unless one can see the natural surroundings and taste the result of Francesca’s way of working, one would think of the adjective “loony”, but this is not what Francesca intended to express by calling her prosecco “ Lunatico”. In order to produce Lunatico, many of the procedures from planting to pruning, harvesting and bottling are carried out under the influence of certain phases of the moon, and this is why the moon can be also seen on the labels of the prosecco bottles.

This is Bob Tyrer's verdict about the Lunatico, published in the Sunday Times on November 2011: “Lunatico is the best prosecco I have ever come across – so much more refreshing and lovely than the three champagnes I tasted alongside it.”

Erich Hartl
hartl@weinpur.de
www.organicwinepure.com