THE “CUVEE GAME” BECOMES THE “CUVEE SCHOOL”. THE EVENT ORGANIZED BY CONTADI CASTALDI IS NO LONGER JUST A COMPETITION BUT A FORGE OF MASTERS IN THE ART OF SPARKLING WINE FROM FRANCIACORTA

The “Cuvée Game” has become the “Cuvée School”: the event organized by Contadi Castaldi is no longer just a competition but has now become a school with the goal of creating a nucleus of enthusiasts and experts of the sparkling wines from Franciacorte, especially one of its most characteristic, Satèn (a particular wine from this area that is obtained exclusively from white grapes and is characterized by a pressure of 4.5 atmospheres instead of the classic 6). The “Cuvée School” will continue to be an annual encounter but there will also be mini-laboratories active throughout the year with the goal of proffering the values and passions of making cuvee.

This event is being promoted by the Contadi Castaldi company (part of the Terra Moretti group), which has always believed in the strength of open dialog with the consumer, making public what is often considered the “secrets” of the ‘metodo classico’.

The Winners of the 2009 “Cuvée Game”:

Out of the 140 participants divided into 14 tasting teams during this year’s edition of the “Cuvée Game”, the winners were: Daniele Ardizzoia (Osteria and bar “Fracandò” in Novara), Pino Balducci (sales manager for Contadi Castaldi in the Piedmont area), Marco Collucelli (sales manager Contadi Castaldi, Bergamo), Cristiano Devià (enoteca “Il Vino tra le rose”, Leinì), Mauro Dolazza (wine bar “Zero35 Cafè”, Bergamo), Francesco Iaiani (sales manager for the privnces of Novara, Verbania, Vercelli, Biella, Aosta), Alessandro Rossi (team leader and sales manager, Lombardy and Piedmont), Giovanni Sala (enoteca “Ambrosia”, Pino Torinese) and Giuseppe Vassalli (enoteca “VassallI”, Bariano).
The cuvée Satèn created by the winning team is composed of the following percentages of the five base wines that were made available by the training workshop: 35% depositi fini, 10% colluvi distali, 15% morenico profondo, 37% colluvi gradonati, and 3% morenico sottile.

Gian Luca Uccelli, the company’s young enologist, chose these from a patrimony of more than 27 base wines, though the 5 wines that were made available are representative of the more incisive variables in characterizing Satèn wine, of which the company currently produces 245,000 bottles, with a production growth trend of 26% over the 2007-2008 period.
Contadi Castaldi holds the top rank for production and sales of Satèn, and this wine, which has fresh and elegant characteristics, has become its winning product due to the increasing number of new consumers who are showing interest in this Italian sparkling wine.