Zeni (Roberto)
First I must correct a few facts I got wrong in the last list: the Zeni family have worked in this valley for four generations and it was not the present torchbearers Roberto and Andrea who set the business up. That said, in 1975 the brothers did dissolve the family business and re-create it. The wine business was ‘Azienda Vinicola’ (bought in grapes) and they transformed it to ‘Azienda Agricola’ (own vineyard wine).
Both brothers trained at the prestigious San Michele wine school and at a time when quantity was the goal they made the brave decision to commit to quality. This is always tricky when you are ahead of your time and especially so in a business like wine where the lead times are so long. The first thing they did was to re-terrace the hillside vineyards which with 40 to 50% gradients were previously almost unusable. Each new terrace was set up so that the vineyards could be planted using the Guyot (French) system and so that a tractor could be driven safely across the slope. High in the Trento, sunlight is more commonplace than heat and the traditional Pergola system shades the bunches, the Guyot system exposes more of the vine and was therefore more suitable. The terraced vineyards have a high content of chalk as well as excellent drainage and in resurrecting them the brothers ensured an excellent supply of fruit for their white wines.
The wine that drew us to this high, gravely valley is Teroldego, a legendary vine that is capable of great things. Sadly, there are few producers interested in taking up the challenge, preferring to trade on the legend. Zeni have created three interpretations of Teroldego, Pini being the most important, a huge wine aged for 24 months in barrique. The Teroldego is excellent and made without recourse to oak and the fruit really sings. Then there is Novello, Italy’s answer the Beaujolais Noveau. This vine is the most prized in the land for this style and it is lovely, but for me it is a waste of valuable grapes.
We also bought a number of distillates from Zeni this year, a few are listed on the back page.
Website: www.zeni.tn.it