Onbrìa Cabernet Franc 2020
Calalta Onbrìa Cabernet Franc is a natural wine made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes farmed organically in Veneto, Northern Italy. I tasted this wine a RAW Los Angeles this year together with the producers. Fruit-forward with some well-integrated tannins; notes of bell pepper and tomato leaf are not as prominent as notes of red fruit. Beautifully structured palate, prefect food wine.
The Winery: Calalta
Calalta is an organic winery located on the hills at the foot of the mountains, in Mussolente, Veneto. The vineyards extend for 5 hectares at an altitude between 150 and 200 meters. They are surrounded by beautiful scenery made of olive trees, woods, meadows, and a pond. It’s a 16 hectares oasis rich in biodiversity that benefits from the protection of Monte Grappa, located north of the winery.
We grow unusual grapes for our area, but they have adapted very well to the climate and soil of Calalta. Some of them are Riesling, Bronner, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Tai Rosso. We believe that the grape variety should be a medium to express our terroir and the unique features of each vintage. Calalta is run by Nicola Brunetti and his wife Giulia since 2017. (source: Calalta)
The Region: Veneto
Veneto is one of the most important wine regions of Italy, located in the North Eastern corner of the Italian peninsula. It borders with Trentino-Alto Adige (north), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (north-east), Emilia-Romagna (south), and Lombardy (west).
The capital of Veneto is Venice, which is also its most populous city, followed by Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, and Rovigo. The east coast of Lake Garda, the biggest Italian lake, is part of Veneto and so is the tract of Alpine foothills called Venetian Prealps.
Veneto is the leading Italian region for the quantity of wine produced – even though wine-producing regions such as Piedmont, Tuscany, Lombardy, Puglia, and Sicily all have bigger territories.
Some of its most famous wines are Amarone della Valpolicella, Valpolicella, Soave, and of course Prosecco. Other less known but equally delicious wines are Recioto della Valpolicella, Recioto di Gambellara, Raboso del Piave, and Bardolino.
Veneto’s main characteristic is perhaps the great variety of wine types produced, obtained mostly from indigenous grape varietals – Corvina, Glera, and Garganega being the most common.
This is due as much to its specific geography and climate as it is to rather peculiar winemaking techniques such as the grape drying technique employed to make Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto’s most famous red wine.