Finally a mountain wine that is as straightforward as the local character! The San Valentino wine speaks the Val Camonica dialect and tells the stories of the valley through the voice of Enrico Togni, a mountain wine producer who runs the winery Togni Rebaioli in Erbanno, near Darfo Boario Terme, in the Val Camonica valley in the province of Brescia.
Through the San Valentino wine, Enrico Togni presents the Erbanno grape, an unknown, ungenerous and hard-to-grow variety. For these reasons, this grape was gradually cleared until it almost became extinct. This quaffable mountain wine has a strong minerality, an intense purple color, a spicy aroma with a hint of red berries and a fleshy, slightly acidic and tannic taste. Refinement in steel tanks lasts 15 months, to be later continued in bottles. The total production amounts to roughly a thousand bottles.
The winery was founded in 2003 by Enrico, who has been managing the historical grape varieties inherited by his grandfather ever since; he is committed to achieving the best harvest with the lowest impact on the environment. The Val Camonica area is still looking for its identity, although it has always been a land devoted to wine production. In 1956 this area reached its maximum wine production potential with 2,556 hectares of vineyards. Now only 180 hectares of vineyards have remained.
The Erbanno grape variety takes its name from the small town of Erbanno, located in Val Camonica, a long stretching alpine valley with a very diverse territory. The estate farmed by Enrico manually or with small handmade machines is made of deep, sandy, loose soils, with a low clay content and very steep and drained patches of land with stonewalls. These are ideal conditions to grow red grapes, matched with the big temperature variation during the autumn, which enable to produce lean and vertical wines with strong aromas, perfect examples of mountain wines.
The other wines produced at the Togni Rebaioli winery are Lambru’ da Marzemino, Merlot and Barbera, the 1703 with 100% Nebbiolo grape, the Vidur with 100% Barbera grape and the Rebaioli cav. Enrico with 100% Merlot grape.
Enrico’s hard work, passion, commitment and curiosity led him to perfectly know his vineyard and understand which grapes grow better and why. For this reason, Enrico produces only table wines and gave up the DOC label, unsuitable for his territory. His approach consists of reducing phytopharmaceuticals to the minimum, using only copper, sulphur, resistance enhancers (like propolis) and sheep grazing on the vineyards in winter.
Erico describes his family and their involvement in the agricultural activities with these words: “my family is composed by me, my partner and my daughter: I work, my partner tastes wine and my daughter enjoys grape”. It’s the perfect balance for environment!
