“Sengio” in our dialect is a black basaltic rock, of volcanic origin. This wine is, in fact, a complete expression of the vineyard from which it comes: a little natural paradise surrounded by a wood, in which bees have also found a happy home.
Our Vigneto Sengialta is emblematic of what Laura is seeking to achieve with the help of her father’s considerable experience; respect for nature and for biodiversity in the vineyard – not because it is fashionable but because we firmly believe in it – is combined with patient maturation of the vintages in the winery.
Rounded and with accentuated mineral notes on the palate, it displays a complex nose of acacia blossom and Mediterranean broom, sage, peaches and chalk-like notes.
It is an ideal wine for aging.
Beekeeping and biodiversity
You may ask why we care so much about bees.
Well, bees – even though they are so small and delicate, play a crucial role in nature.
Without them the very survival of man on Earth would be at risk. The majority of the plants cultivated for human food in fact need to be pollinated by bees or other insects.
And that’s not counting wild plants, which in turn are extremely important for biodiversity. If nettles, for example, were to disappear, more than a hundred insects that live in them would be in danger.
Protecting bees today therefore means safeguarding the environment in which we live, as well as its biodiversity.
Unfortunately modern industrialized farming is characterized by monoculture, and the use of herbicides and chemical pesticides has made the countryside of many areas inhospitable for pollinating insects.
Our idea of agriculture is diametrically opposed to this and is based on respect: in our vineyards, woods and orchards bees find a welcoming habitat.
By becoming beekeepers, Laura and her husband Federico have experienced at first hand how every human action – however large or small – has an effect on the environment.
“We are grateful for everything that the bees give us and teach us” Laura often says. “Protecting them is the very least we can do”.
Wines and volcanoes
Balestri Valda’s vineyards are situated within a large volcanic/tectonic basin delimited to the West by the tectonic line of Castelvero and to the East by the Schio-Vicenza line.
There is a close relationship between basalt soils and the rich flavors and balance that are to be found in the wines that come from them.
Basalts are volcanic rocks that were formed by successive series of eruptions that went on for three geological cycles, all of them in a sub-marine environment. These eruptions gave rise to volcanoclastic products of colors varying from gray to yellow and reddish, depending on their area of formation and degree of oxidation. The action of external agents then had varied effects on the different volcanic substrata, contributing towards a re-modelling of the landscape and thus creating its modern-day appearance.
Basalts, which are poor in silicon and rich in magnesium and iron, tend to absorb between 85% and 99% of the phosphates added to these rocks. Consequently, any periodic fertilization should be reduced considerably in terms of frequency, also owing to these rocks’ strong draining capacities.
But in our soils there is not only basalt; this black stone is in fact mixed with white limestone, creating an amalgam of minerals from which the vines are able to benefit.
The limestone deposits are what is left of ancient sea beds; these sediments rich in calcium carbonate, depositing themselves at the bottom of the sea, trapped animals and shells, which we can still find today in fossils of very curious and varied kinds.