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A beautiful view of Tenuta Belicello from its Eastern border.
I enjoyed a lovely uphill walk this morning, surrounded by wild fan palm and almond trees, and many different species of medicinal herbs.
I am surprised by the amount of vegetals that grow in this area - which suggests me to start a cataloguing project, with photos and description of each variety, to better understand the #biodiversity of my #terroir.
#cantinebarbera #naturalwine #biodynamic #menfidoc #sicilianwine
Our bees are starting to become quite busy as Spring approaches.
This swarm of wild black Sicilian bees set up their hive two years ago, in an old wine barrel near the winery.
It wasn’t the safest place, so we decided to move them closer to the vineyard, in a quiet location with plenty of flowers.
Now they are enjoying their new home, and are contributing to the #biodiversity of Tenuta Belicello ❤️
@Island_Martha agree!
And: it’s interesting to read that you participated in a Woofing stage: could you share more details? I always thought I would open my vineyard to such experiences…
I walked vineyards last Saturday.
Here’s an astonishing view of two opposite agricultural methods on the same soil: a #biodynamic farmed vineyard on the left, a conventional/chemical one on the right.
There’s no better way to explain why we should pay attention to what we eat and drink.
Massal selection part 2
In this particular case, given that the old root system was very large and healthy, we raised two shoots and grafted them with buds from the nearby vine.
After two years, two young vines have developed, both of which already produced their first bunch of grapes last harvest, and are bigger and stronger than any 2 years-old vine propagated in a nursery from clonal selection.
Massal selection part 1
Inzolia, Dietro le Case vineyard, planted before 1968.
55+ years is a good age for vines, especially in hot climates, but it also means that some of them can die.
When this happens, we try to rescue and restore their roots, which come from rootstocks originating from the first planting of last century, and have an impressive strength.
Pruning season starts today.
As our ancestors said, “the soil is low”: it takes hard labor and a lot of time, but we prefer not to use pre-pruning machines, to limit soil compaction and help develop a rich spontaneous grassing that will improve organic matter levels.
