Principato Pinot Grigio shows delicate, floral and fruity aromas with a hint of stone fruit. The palate is crisp with citrus characters and a limey and lightly spicy finish. A fresh, characterful and appealing Pinot Grigio from the Provincia di Pavia region south of Milan. Cavit are renowned for producing consistently high quality, impeccably-made wines, truly expressive of each variety.
Cavit is a leading co-operative in the mountainous Trentino region of northeast Italy. The winery began as a consortium of associated grape growers in '50, with a dedicated winery at Ravina di Trento built in '64. Today It unites 11 separate cellars and their combined 4,500 grape growers across 7,000 hectares of vineyard, to produce an impressively broad portfolio from an intriguing palette of indigenous and international grape varieties. Trentino has a much higher proportion of wines produced as DOC than any other region in Italy - an average of 80% of the region's wines have a DOC classification, compared to around 30% elsewhere in the country. Remarkably, Cavit accounts for 60% of this region's wine production and they advise and supervise all aspects of this production from the vineyard to the bottle. Their site at Maso Toresella on the shores of Lake Toblino was the historic residence of the Prince Bishops of Trento, surrounded by 6.5 hectares of vineyard. It is one of the most significant 'masi' (rural estates) in the whole of Trentino. They have worked with the San Michele all’Adige Oenological Institute, since '88, to develop wines of the highest quality. In '93 Cantina Altemasi was established, also at Ravina, not far from the region's capital of Trento - for the production and maturation of Classic Trentodoc and Charmat Method sparkling wines. Trento Doc was the first Classical Method sparkling wine DOC to be established anywhere in the world after Champagne, and the first in Italy.
Grapes are sourced from Oltrepo Pavese in the province of Pavia, Lombardy. The vines are cultivated on the hillsides at an altitude ranging from 200 to 400m above sea level in a climate which features hot summers and cold winters with 600 to 900mm of rainfall per year, concentrated mostly in late autumn and early spring. Grapes are harvested end of August/first week of September. The grapes are harvested at the end of August/beginning of September. After soft pressing, the cooled must is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a temperature between 18 - 20 degrees C. It is then left to develop for three months in stainless steel tanks before being bottled.
A note on Sustainability:
For more than two decades Cavit has adhered to the “Protocol for the Production of High-Quality Wines in Trentino”, marking its commitment to fully sustainable agriculture. It is also a member of SEDEX and is working towards SNQPI (Sistema di Qualità Nazionale Produzione Integrata) certification for its commitment to sustainable agriculture. In addition to using only green energy, Cavit has made major investments aimed at reducing energy consumption. Specifically, it has built three photovoltaic generators which produce part of its energy requirements from renewable sources (more than 800 Megawatts per year), significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.PICA (Integrated Agricultural and Wine-producing Cartographic Platform), is the result of a five year research project conducted by Cavit in collaboration with MPA Solutions and leading research centres in Trentino: the Edmund Mach Foundation (FEM) and the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK).The PICA platform is a complex system, but it works in a simple way. By networking the 4,500 vine growers of the 11 Cavit wine producers’ co-operatives it collects information and gives advice. The main purpose of this platform is to help the grower to achieve total sustainability. The project comprises of two main areas.The first defines the choice of the most suitable grape varieties, on the basis of the technical and environmental parameters of the soil; the second involves the creation of an avant-garde system with which agronomists and winemakers can receive specific information concerning each vineyard and the various phases in the cultivation of the vines. In practice, waste is eliminated and the grower has total control. For example, it is possible to regulate the water supply according to the characteristics of the soil and the weather conditions.
