Moonlight Wine Co.

For generations the Spagnol family has done nothing but earn their living as Prosecco grape growers.  Starting in 1986 they began to bottle their own wines.  The Spagnol family owns vineyard land in what is commonly accepted as the Grand Cru area of Valdobbiadene Doc Prosecco: a handful of impossibly steep hills situated between the villages of Vidor, Colbertaldo, Guia, Saccol and Cartizze.

Brothers Marco and Stefano Spagnol had the good fortune of inheriting 18 Ha of prized Prosecco parcels planted with old vines throughout the afore-mentioned Grand Cru area. They are therefore able to diversify the harvest risk by mixing the different parcels together after the crop, just so to produce a well-balanced, complete and constant-quality 'choral' Prosecco Valdobbiadene: always a blend of 'Grand Cru status' Prosecco grapes only. 

The Castelir line has been deliberately conceived to render the special terroir of the Colbertaldo / Vidor / Cartizze area, where the oldest Pergolas of Prosecco are located. Here, the soil is most extreme, totally rocky with only 10/15cm of fertile humus, the steepness of the hillslopes reaches a 40 degrees gradient, and the vines are well over 30 years of age. As such, the Castelir line aims at delivering a reference expression of pure, immaculate Prosecco typicity. The vinification is designed to let the grapes as well as the soil affirm themselves: Marco Spagnol rejects cultured yeasts and goes for his own 'pied-de-cuve' from indigenous yeast strains collected over the years throughout isolated and abandoned vineyards found in Colbertaldo di Vidor. Furthermore, the secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks (Charmat method, traditional in Valdobbiadene) is prolonged up to 6 months, while the average in the Valdobbiadene area is 3/4 months. The result is an uncharacteristically elegant, flinty-stony, creamy Prosecco begging for much more attention than your average bubbly carrying a Valdobbiadene / Prosecco label. We wholehartedly recommend the Brut version to all the connoisseurs who want to experience the intense salinity and crisp stoniness of the Valdobbiadene terroir. 

 

No consulting winemakers, no cultured yeasts, no purchased grapes at Spagnol / Castlier; rather, 100% estate old vines tended with the traditional Pergola system, reproduced from massale cuttings and located in the most extreme, rocky, steep parcels located exclusively in the Valdobbiadene Grand Cru area. Estate vineyards are 25 to 50 year old, afford ideal growing conditions (south-south and south-east exposure), and push their roots straight into the cracks of giant white stones from the Piave river valley ['Sasso Bianco del Piave' terroir]. Vine density is up to 4.000-4.500 plants per Ha.

Contrary to the recent permission to use up to 10% of Pinot Bianco / Chardonnay grapes in the composition of Prosecco Valdobbiadene Doc, Marco Spagnol is adamant in his resolution to keep producing Prosecco solely from native grapes such as Prosecco itself and the lesser known native varieties Bianchetta and Perera.

 

Enjoy the experience of a high-quality, terroir-infused Prosecco Valdobbiadene, and train your nose to appreciate the coolest, finest perfumes this grape is capable of...such as cedar rind, coconut, tart pears, tangerine and bergamot...