The headquarter of Cantine Franzosi in Puegnago is like a balcony with a spectacular view on the great beauty of Garda: and this is certainly the detail that immediately struck visitors that now come more and more to see this winery from every corner of Europe . But then there is a whole back story to tell: one that speaks of tradition and dedication, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit that looks to modernity without betraying the rural roots. A story that begins in 1938, when grandfather Giovanni acquires the company, and then hits another milestone in the 60s, when the basement is developed and transferred with huge investments by Bruno Franzosi, and finally continues now with the third generation: conducting today is in fact in the hands of Giovanni, Paola and Luigi, sons of Bruno, who is still active on a daily basis between the rows of vineyards on Monte Aullo, the splendid fragment of Valtènesi where the company has found its privileged positioning in the 70s. Today Franzosi is a reality of 20 hectares of vineyards for about 200 000 bottles produced, to which is added an olive grove of 10 hectares and 3,000 plants. Wine and olive oil then, in the classic Valtènesi style but also with an eye aware toward innovatio: Chiaretto and Groppello are the “must”, but among the news there’s the Rebo, a vine to which the Franzosi family are devoting great attention to the point that they decided to plant a new hectare this year dedicated to this vine. For waht concerns extra virgin olive oil, production has three labels: two monocultivar with varieties typical of the area, Casaliva and Leccino, and a blend. “Even in the oil we have tried to develop a solid structure – explains sales manager Giovanni Franzosi -. And despite the difficulties of a disastrous campaign like that of 2014, we managed to contain losses to approximately -20% due to the presence of an agronomist who has been following the situation in real time, deciding promptly the necessary actions. ” Franzosi, we said, is a must see for the beautiful location, but also because the choice of the family is focused on tasting excursions, to the point that 40% of business is generated just from direct sales (and 80% of customers are foreigners). Hence also the decision to hold the company and the shop open to the public every day, even on Sunday morning. “These are choices that we can afford thanks to the fact the our business is run exclusively by the family,” says Giovanni Franzosi, proudly announcing that this year their wines have arrived even in China and Taiwan, after having already broken through in Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Some additional curiosities to know: in the Franzosi wine line there are also a Lugana (about 100 thousand bottles) produced in the production area in Pozzolengo with local winegrowers, in addition to the only two official wines of the Alto Garda Park. The company has in fact obtained to produce wines with grapes of winemakers in Salò and Tremosine as there are no wineries active in the Park area. And this two more labels enrich further the profile of a reality of solid historical roots, but with an eye open to the future.
THE BOTTLE
Try definitely the Rebo IGP Benaco Bresciano, that Franzosi has been producing for seven harvests now from Rebo grapes 100% exclusively grown in their vineyards. Approximately 20 000 bottles are available every year: it is an agile and quick wine, but with an alcohol content of 14% vol. which draws a profile of strong personality. From the distillation of the mark used to produce the wine arrives the Grappa Rebo, which has the same graphic and label of its “cousin wine”.
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