The grapes are harvested entirely by hand, from the end of September till October, in several passes through the vineyard. We select only the ripest, healthiest, and loosest bunches and harvest them carefully, putting them into small wooden boxes to avoid any breakage. They are then brought to a special room called “fruttaio”. Here the bunches are hung to dry in special nets, where they stay until at least the end of the following March. During this process, called appassimento, the grapes are checked daily, and any imperfect grapes are removed. Appassimento gradually shrivels the grapes, concentrating the sugars and flavours. After drying, the grapes are very gently pressed, extracting only the very best portion of the juice. The resulting must is put into small oak barrels, some new and some used, where it ferments and matures for 10/12 months. The wine spends a further two months in the bottle before leaving our cellars.