Al Canevon, Prosecco for passion
Our first wine, bottled since 1940, is the Vin del nono (literally Grandfather’s wine), a sur-lie that our grandfather Giuseppe Geronazzo, nicknamed Bepi (in the photo on the left) used to prepare for his household and close friends.
Today, Vin del nono is still produced through the natural aging process “sur-lie”, i.e. lees fermentation, and bottle labels are dedicated right to Grandfather
Bepi. The year 2001 marked the start of a gradual passage of the family business into the next generation’s hands, and the adoption of sparkling making techniques. Today, our founder Abramo (Bepi’s son) is still involved in the estate, although his tasks are mainly related to grape growing and the supervision of the vineyard careful maintenance (still carried out by hand), in which he is helped by his grandson Nicola and granddaughter-in-law Viviana. Sales and administration are run by Bepi’s daughter Manuela and granddaughter Sandy. Manuela’s husband Fabio is in charge of cellar management and wine production. In our family estate, we proud ourselves on bottling and selling only first-class sparkling wines, their taste being the result of a hand-made harvest, an accurate selection of grapes and the mastery of vinification techniques. Wines by Al Canevon have been often chosen for toasts in a variety of sport events, ranging from Moto Gp to Superbike championship awards and in many other international venues. Constant efforts by Fabio, the best grapes and valuable advice by competent wine technicians are the reasons why Al Canevon’s wines have gained worldwide recognition and were awarded in the most important wine competitions both at a national and international level.
Winemaking process for our DOCG wines (the acronym referring to the controlled and guaranteed designation of origin) is perfectly in line with norms regulating the sparkling technique for Prosecco Superiore Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. In our vineyard in-between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene we only grow the white variety of Glera grapes (better known as Prosecco) and harvests are carried out by hand. Grape clusters are collected in Bins plastic boxes and transported in insulated trucks to preserve their freshness. Then, as prescribed by the classic charmat method, they are soft pressed through a process occurring in specific wine presses that gently crush berries in order to obtain a delicate must, which will later become our Prosecco DOCG. As stated in procedural guidelines, yield is 70%, i.e. around one bottle/ kg grapes. In the next phase, turbid must undergoes static decantation in steel tanks at 5-10° temperature for about 15 hours.
After decantation, the clarified must undergoes its vinification phase in steel tanks: natural yeasts are added to start the alcoholic fermentation, lasting approximately 10 days at constant temperature. The resulting basic wines, separated according to their lot of origin and organoleptic features, are then accurately tasted in order to create blends (known with the French term cuvées) and will next be subjected to a secondary fermentation. The sparkling winemaking process is carried out according to the Italian charmat method (today also known as “Conegliano-Valdobbiadene method”), with the wine kept for 40 days in pressure tanks where sugar and yeasts are added, thus ensuring the preservation of natural aromas and creating the unique fruity and flowery scents that are typical of Prosecco Valdobbiadene Docg. At the end of the sparkling making phase, our wine is bottled and becomes ready to be put up for sale, having also been certified by the wine authority Valori Italia.