Sparkling wine is currently on a roll and in the north of Italy, more precisely in Valdobbiadene DOCG, there is a producer that practises heroic viticulture – Andreola. The beautiful hills of Valdobbiadene offer scenic and panoramic views of the area – a perfect backdrop for a chat with the owner of Andreola, Stefano Pola.

Since when do you produce wines in Valdobbiadene?

My father Nazzareno Pola founded the winery in 1984 and I took over the family business in 2010.

What steps did you take when you took over the business?

Well, my father had already started a clear path of wanting to produce high-quality sparkling wines in our area and I fully embrace this mentality. The first year I took over the production, I decided to start producing a Valdobbiadene DOCG Extra Brut (0 gr/l of residual sugar) called 26° 1° Rive di Col San Martino. I wanted the Glera grapes from our vineyards in Col San Martino to express the true finesse and elegance that I knew they were capable of delivering. 

Why did you produce a sparkling wine without residual sugar?

Well, mainly to let the elegance and finesse of this wine to be fully embraced. Since we have an approach where we are convinced that a good wine is mainly made in the vineyards, we wanted the terroir of Col San Martino to shine through and be the protagonist of this wine, without any distractions.

You practise heroic viticulture. What does this mean?

The criteria is that either you have vineyards over 500 m.a.s.l. or you have a pendency in the vineyards of minimum 35 per cent. Just to give you an idea, we produce a single vineyard wine (Rive) in the area of Soligo called Mas de Fer and in this area we have an inclination of 70 per cent. This is the reason why all of our grapes are harvested manually.

So does having vineyards in very challenging conditions make life more difficult for you?

Well, we try to use it to our advantage. Since the beginning we have produced a wine called Dirupo. In Italian this means literally 'steep hillside'. To produce this wine we have selected nine areas inside of Valdobbiadene DOCG characterized for their steep inclination. It is challenging to produce Dirupo but it gives us enormous satisfactions every year as these vineyards bring great freshness, elegance and pleasant ‘drinkability’ to this wine. I like to see Dirupo as a true ambassador for the whole area of Valdobbiadene, reflecting a broader range of terroirs within our denomination.

Nazzareno Pola

Andreola is one of the few producers in Valdobbiadene that produces six single vineyard wines. Why have you made this choice?

I am fortunate enough to own vineyards in all of these different areas so my ambition is to portray the various single vineyards (locally called Rive) and interpret the richness of the various terroirs. We produce single vineyards in Refrontolo, Soligo, Col San Martino, Rolle and San Pietro di Feletto. We also produce one Cartizze.

Distributed by Nm Arrigo Limited, Triq L Intornjatur Zone 3, Central Business District, Birkirkara. For more information call on 2122 3755, 2122 5039 or e-mail info@nmarrigo.com.