ABOUT VINEYARDS
To ensure that my selected vineyards will produce grapes capable of giving world class wines, ones that reflect the soil and climate, ones that will develop over years, I need natural stability and resilience obtained in vineyards managed with organic farming. I also need to experience several vintages, learn the specific microclimates, small details of local varieties, most suitable clonal selections, rootstocks, soil types, exposures, farming procedures…That is why OMO project started with the grapes from an existing great vineyard of local varieties, managed in a certain way.
In the case of first two wines, Malvasia Istriana and Refosco, I found suitable highest quality grapes of Malvasia Istarska in vineyards managed by Visintin family near Buie, on the hill named Castagnari for Malvasia Istriana and a vineyard of Refosco just next to the village of Brazania. Both vineyards were planted in 2010.-2012. and certified organic production since 2014.
Malvasia is planted in a terraced vineyard of S-SW orientation, on a brown calcareous sandy loam, planted with SO4 rootstock and VCR4 Malvasia istriana clone. It gives balanced ripe grapes, very rich in sugars, with fine acidity and characteristic sweetish skin tannin.
Refosco is planted on a slope with S-SW exposure, on a brown medium fertile warm sandy loam, planted with Refosco dal peduncolo rosso clone VCR473 (sel. Petrussi) on a SO4 rootstock, it constantly gives very concentrated rich grapes, full of ripe tannins and balanced acidity.
Next step in OMO project was finding a nearest possible location for a new vineyard with a similar specific terroir and planting my own vineyard. Finally in spring 2023. I managed to find a beautiful hill just hundreds of meters away, abandoned for decades, but once covered with vineyards and olive trees. After three years of carefully clearing out the brushes, trees, starting the cultivation with cover crops and organic fertilisation I was confident that natural balance and soil fertility was restored and ready for new vineyard planting. In spring 2026. first 5.000 vines of Malvasia istriana will be planted and within following three years will be prepared and planted to a total of 6 hectares. Together with currently produced Malvasia istriana and Refosco, I will plant several local “lost” varieties, some of them almost lost in the last half century, now restoring it from mere couple of vines. Those varieties were historically always planted together for balance and just making a better wine. This rather experimental approach requires patient terroir understanding and project preparation for a long time for every new wine release, but it guarantees that every new wine will represent an uncompromised highest terroir interpretation.
