Tenuta Scerscé today extends over seven hectares at an altitude between 400 and 720 meters above sea level with an excellent exposure to the South – South-East, from Teglio in the Valgella area, up to Tirano. In line with common practice, due to excessive fragmentation of Valtellina’s territory, the winery’s development, started right in the municipality of Teglio, has been gradual and determined by a thorough search for the right plots of land in the most wine-specialized areas. In the all red-berried Nebbiolo Chiavennasca vineyards, completely turfed with sandy-loam soil, we generally have low water retention and high permeability. In the vineyards, the plants are rigorously positioned in the traditional “rittochino” and the terraces communicate with each other through stone stairs. This requires exclusively manual maintenance that in a year can reach up to 1,500 hour of work per hectare. All this contributes to preserving biodiversity, a prerogative that testifies to Scerscé’s great commitment to the care of its territory. Two new projects now include the Sassella and Inferno areas.
During the winter months, the Rhaetian Alps protect the valley from the cold northern winds, while the Orobian Alps shields it from the cold southern winds through Mount Adamello. The strong temperature difference between day and night, considerable even in the summer months, not only gives depth to the grapes’ aromas, but also dilates their ripening time. From late spring and throughout the summer, the Breva del Lago di Como wind blowing in the valley heats and dries the leaves of the vines, thus preserving them from disease. An ideal microclimate that boosts the development of grape bunches and grape ripening.
In this natural arena surrounded by the mountains, the protagonist has always been the “Nebbiolo from the Alps” vine, whose biotype is here called Chiavennasca. A noble, demanding vine, which needs particular environmental and climate conditions that the Rhaetian slopes can easily provide. Indeed, the plants grown in the Guyot pruning methods benefit from the sunlight, which here shines as much as in Pantelleria (1,900 hours a year), and from its heat, a necessary condition for the vigorous development of the plant.
