In Veneto dialect, il ceo simply means the boy, and the nickname fits Davide Andreatta well: there is a youthful restlessness in the way he approaches his vines, and a willingness to do things the hard way for the sake of the grapes he believes in.
Backstory
Davide entered the world of wine around 2012, almost for fun, and by 2014 he was sure enough of his calling to rent a vineyard in Breganze, in the hills north of Vicenza about forty minutes from Venice. Together with his wife Francesca he became one of the area's first natural winemakers.
The Region
Il Ceo farms several plots across the central Veneto communes of Breganze, Fara Vicentino, Mason Vicentino, Sarcedo and Zugliano, on hillside soils of volcanic origin. It is classic Breganze country, but Davide has set out to revive its ancestral, native side rather than its international one.
Vineyards and Farming
Famously, Davide has pulled out established, easy-to-manage Breganze DOC vines to replant harder, indigenous varieties, above all Vespaiola and Groppello, the grapes he sees as the true voice of the area. The vineyards are worked biodynamically, with close attention to soil health and no chemicals.
Winemaking
In the cellar there is room only for spontaneous fermentation with no added sulfur. Davide plays with skin contact and carbonic maceration and favors neutral vessels, fiberglass, concrete, steel and barrels up to ten years old, so nothing masks the fruit. The wines are unfiltered, true zero-zero.
The Wines
The range runs across unfiltered reds, rosés, skin-contact whites and frizzantes, all from native grapes. Bottlings such as the carbonic Groppea rosé are snapshots of a specific Veneto terroir made the old way, fresh, slender and built on clear acidity.
