Alessandra Divella did two unusual things in Franciacorta at once: she farmed organically, and she did it as the region's first female estate owner.
Backstory
Divella started her estate, Azienda Agricola Divella, in 2012 in Gussago, at the western edge of Franciacorta in Lombardy, making her first vintage in 2013. In a region dominated by larger, more industrial operations, hers stands out as one of the first to farm organically and the first to be led by a woman. With less than a decade behind her she had already earned pioneer status, and she is frequently compared to cult grower-producers in Champagne for her nerve, her integrity, and her mineral-driven style.
The Region
Franciacorta, between Brescia and Lake Iseo, is Italy's benchmark zone for traditional-method sparkling wine. Divella works pointedly outside the DOCG, bottling wines that are completely distinct from those carrying the Franciacorta label and answer only to her own standards.
Vineyards & Farming
She leases two hectares from an older neighbor on a 30-year arrangement, planted to roughly 1.5 hectares of Chardonnay and 0.5 hectares of Pinot Noir on limestone and clay. The vines, around 18 years old, have been farmed organically though uncertified since the start, and the rows teem with life, from rosehips to praying mantises. She avoids systematic treatments and herbicides entirely, using only copper, sulfur, and Cuban zeolite when needed.
Winemaking
Divella makes only traditional-method sparkling wine. Grapes are hand-harvested and handled gently. Fermentations are spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, and the wines are bottled with no dosage and no filtration, so there is nowhere to hide. Cuvees age extensively on the lees, from a couple of years to many, building depth and a fine, persistent mousse.
The Wines
The range spans a Blanc de Blancs from Chardonnay, the Clo Clo rose drawn from Pinot Noir, and several small-lot cuvees that read like a personal sketchbook rather than a commercial line. Because the wines see no dosage, the lees aging and the quality of the fruit have to carry everything, and they do. Each bottle is transparent, taut, mineral, and unmistakably her own.
