RIPENESS. A small vineyard can wait until the grapes are perfectly ripe and often can harvest them in a single day or two as opposed to beginning to pick a week too soon and finishing a week too late. The difference between a wine made with perfectly ripened fruit versus unripe or overripe can often be the difference between a good wine and a great wine.

HAND HARVESTING. The trained eye is the surest method of taking only the right, ripe fruit. Hand harvesting is also cleaner, with fewer leaves, twigs, dirt, rotting or diseased fruit getting into the wine. A clean wine requires less additives and is simply going to taste better. The cost of hand harvesting has increased drastically, but virtually every vineyard we import harvests by hand, save for a select few that are experimenting with a new, rather expensive machine that that gently shakes only the ripest grapes free. So far, they are very happy with the results – but special machines like this are very rare in today’s landscape, and if necessary, these estates may return to hand-harvesting.

SMALL BATCHES. Just as it is easier to make a spectacular dinner for four than it is for four thousand, so is it more achievable to make a spectacular small batch of wine than a large batch that is stripped of its character and nuance.

SIZE OF PRODUCTION. Some of the leading experts in Italy were asked, “What is the maximum amount of wine that a family can make without going into a more “corporate” structure?” The consensus was about 200,000 bottles (16,000 cases). Many of our Discovery vineyards are in the hundreds of cases (some less than that) or perhaps a few thousand cases. All Discovery wines are from a vineyard that is small enough to be run by a family and does not need outside help to get the job done. And when all is said and done, you can taste the difference in the bottle.

IMPORTING WINES FROM SMALL, FAMILY OWNED VINEYARDS IN ITALY.
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