All winemaking professionals have for a long time agreed on one principle: the quality of a wine comes principally from the vineyard, which gives the fruit the distinctiveness of the particular terroir and microclimate where the vines are grown.

Top quality wine, in fact, comes from optimally-ripened bunches, produced by grape varieties that have been carefully matched to the climate and soils where they are planted, from vines tended with the same passion one dedicates to a garden, to bring out their very best.

This is the reason that Berlucchi has undertaken a multi-year total renovation of its estate vineyards, with the vines being replanted in accord with the most advanced viticultural practices. Yields are set at about 100 quintals per hectare, and at a much higher vine density per hectare, 8,000 to 10,000, compared to the 2,500 in the past.

With this new approach, each vine and its root system is ripening only 4-5 bunches, compared to the previous 16-20; this represents the perfect ripening of just over a kilogram of grapes, with properties ideal for the production of a great wine.

The Berlucchi vineyards are planted primarily to chardonnay, but they are polyclonal--planted to various clones to ensure a wider range of characteristics and organoleptic qualities.

The fruit is harvested exclusively by hand, in shallow 18-kg boxes, so that the bunches remain intact, and arrive in perfect condition at the vinification facilities at Borgonato (Brescia), Lavis (Trento), and Casteggio (Pavia).

Pressing is the third step essential to top quality. It is crucial that the grapes be pressed within a few hours after being picked. The presses must be specifically designed to provide a delicate, continuous pressing, accurate fractioning of the must, and total control through all the phases of the pressing.