It ‘s a story that started in the 50s but which still relies on a fundamental assumption: the close link with the territory, that of the municipality of Bedizzole, in the province of Brescia, which over the years has been able to achieve its full potential in the production of quality wines. Le Gaine is the winery which Paolo Cottini leads with his brother Giovanni (current mayor of Bedizzole) in the countryside that stretches between the villages of Cantrina and Macesina: we are practically at the front door to the most famous and common renowned Lake Garda, in a land perhaps peripheral to the Riviera but where the wine business has always been present in ancient times. And the Cottini family has always been they busy with wine: Paolo’s grandfather traded it when he was young, while his father Giuseppe graduated in oenology in Alba in the same years when Franco Ziliani, commonly considered the father of Franciacorta, was also studying there. At the start of the 50s he opened a “commercial winery” in the center of Bedizzole: he bought grapes and wine, and in the 80s he also began planting vineyards on the family land. The company has entered a new phase when Paolo and Giovanni have decided to follow their father’s footsteps: the new winery, opened in 2000 after more than a year of work, marked the turning point for the debut of Le Gaine as an agricultural reality in all respects.
“The market was changing and we realized it was necessary to take this step – says Paolo-. Even then, we were convinced that here it was possible to make good and special wines, but at the time for us it was also hazardous to bet on a territory not particularly well known”.
Today Le Gaine is a reality of 13 hectares of vineyards, all in the territory of Bedizzole, mostly planted near the winery. At the moment the production is limited to 50,000 bottles, sold at 50% directly from the winery.
“I had the ambition to export but in fact in recent years we have mainly boosted the market in the area, between Lake Garda, Brescia and the Valleys, including wine bars and restaurants that are always a great promotional vehicle between private customers.”
But how are the wines of Le Gaine? What does Bedizzole terroir add to the classic characteristics of the Valtènesi wines? “Land is the same of moraine origins – explains Paolo – But the weather is less influenced by the lake: we have less constant temperatures and the wines reflect this character. They are perhaps less gentle wines but surely more powerful, structured and determined with significantly higher grades. ”
Le Gaine is a company oriented especially to red wines with a tendency to prefer monovines processed strictly in purity: there is a Marzemino (which, in deference to Bedizzole-style, is a more powerful cousin of the Trentino varieties), a Cabernet Sauvignon baptized Preder (that is Stone, because “I do see it as a rocky wine, male, impressive”), two Rebo, one of which is aged in barrels. And then naturally a Groppello, also worked in purity, that Paolo Cottini perhaps considers the most representative wine of the company together with the red Valtènesi ( “The one where i like to play with the cuvée instead”). Do not miss the Valtènesi Chiaretto and then the whites: a Riesling 100% ( “The Cantrina Riesling was already appreciated in the ’60s and’ 70s” – recalls Paolo), a Chardonnay, and two dessert wines, dedicated to the patrons of Bedizzole : the Sant’Acacio, more honeyed and structured, and Sant’Ermolao lighter and more drinkable, produced with Incrocio Manzoni, Chardonnay and Riesling.
The future? “We aim to bottle all production and arrive in the long term to 100,000 bottles – concludes Paolo -. We continue to invest in quality improvement. The results are not lacking: the prizes arrived in recent years, not only for us but also for other wineries close to our own, have shown that Bedizzole is a microcosm that can express particularly high quality value products “.
The bottle.
“Groppello? I have always seen it in the traditional way: a fine, elegant wine, easy to drink: I never tried to make what I think it is not by increasing degree and structure. ” So Paolo Cottini explains the wine that counts the most for him: born from Groppello 100% grapes carefully selected among the six clones present in the vineyard, harvested strictly by hand, vinified in steel for a result ready to land on the market in the spring.
“According to tradition, I find it perfect to match with our classic Spiedo and I fully stand by this character of Groppello: a wine of which you can also drink one more glass, but really and fully representative of who we are.”
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