The Estate Podere Salicutti covers 11 hectares of land comprising vineyards (around 4 hectares), olive groves (around 1.5 hectares and woods (3.30 hectares).
The vineyards which benefit from an ideal exposure (ranging from South/South-East to South/South-West) and altitude (420 m above sea level) and from a dry mild climate are well sheltered from the cold North winds.
At the heart of the estate the old farmhouse has been converted into the residence of the owner and two apartments for holiday homes as well as the cellar for aging the wines. In 1999 a new building was completed which houses the winery, a storage area and the office. A new wine aging cellar and a swimming pool are being planned.
The estate is managed directly by the owner Francesco Leanza who oversees the farming decisions, the winery operations and takes care of the administration and marketing.
The land is farmed with organic methods following very simple techniques, which increase the fertility of the soil with the organic nutrients from stable manure and green-manuring with leguminous crops and cereals.
The humus provided by natural substances increases the biological activity of he land and helps the absorption of other nutrients. The infestation of fungus in the vineyard can be adequately controlled by the use of Bordeaux powder and pure sulphur. The olive grove does not need any treatment against parasites.
The four vineyards of Podere Salicutti, with their excellent exposures and favourable slopes, benefit from optimal insolation and the protection against the cold northern winds.
The winery is divided into two different areas, or sections. One for vinification and one for aging.
AGING CELLAR
The aging cellar (80 sq.m.) occupies the space where the old stables were, on the ground floor of the old farmhouse with its thick stone walls.
The original architectural and structural features have been maintained and offset with skilled renovation. The space is air-conditioned.
The aging of the wines takes place in 5 hectolitre barrels of French oak and in French and Slavonian oak barrels of capacities ranging from 10 to 40 hectolitres according to the aging periods.
VINIFICATION WINERY
The winery (80 sq.m.) is in a newly built basement giving on to the ground floor on one side, with well insulated walls and ceilings finished off on the outside in the traditional materials (local stone and old tiles), It is equipped with stainless steel vats in varying sizes (from 80 to 15 hectolitres with a total capacity of 320 hectolitres) all endowed with automatic temperature control (hot-cold) with an electronic switchboard that commands every single vat autonomously. The winery is also equipped with an air conditioning system. For the pressing of the marc we chose the traditional hydraulic press in a wooden cage. The de-stemmer, crusher and pump are the latest models.