La Travaglina Srl Società Agricola

THE FARM.

Owned by the Dacarro family since the 1960s, La Travaglina is a winery established in the ancient 17th-century farmstead of the same name located in the heart of the Oltrepò Pavese region of Lombardy. It was founded in Santa Giuletta by Grandfather Angelo (first generation) who passed it on to our father. Today we, Stefano and Elisabetta Dacarro, together with Stefano Bottiroli, Elisabetta’s husband, run the winery, which, over the decades, has expanded to its current total of 33 hectares, 30.5 of which are vineyards. Ever since we were children we have been involved in the winery’s activities, and after finishing our studies, our natural life choice was to continue this tiring but engaging and exciting work. As in all family businesses, we help each other in the various activities, although everyone has a well-defined role: Elisabetta, agronomist, takes care of the agricultural and administrative aspects in support of her brother Stefano, La Travaglina’s passionate winemaker, while Stefano Bottiroli, Elisabetta’s husband, is the commercial soul. Federico, a young winemaker and Stefano and Elisabetta’s son, has also long since begun to collaborate and participate in the life of the winery.

THE VINEYARD

The soils face northwest, and the vineyards, in a single body all around the winery, are located between 200m and 300m above sea level. These characteristics guarantee freshness and light for most of the year as well as a good diurnal temperature range. Thanks to analysis and knowledge of the terroir, we have identified a number of estate “crus” that we vinify separately with the aim of obtaining wines with identity and respect for the characteristics conferred by the vineyard. The soils are mainly composed of limestone and clay, which vary in percentage even a few hundred meters apart; these variations in chemical composition and microclimate suggest to us the most suitable grape varieties for the various plots.

THE WINES.

Production is centered on native or historical grape varieties such as Croatina and Barbera for red wine making, Riesling Italico and Cortese for white wine production, and Pinot Noir, an international grape variety with a long history in Oltrepò, both sparkling and red wine making.

All our wines are made from grapes from our own vineyards, so we follow the entire production chain, from vineyard management to bottle sales. We believe that an excellent wine must necessarily be born in the vineyard, thus starting from healthy and quality grapes that must be respected by the work in the cellar, with the aim of enhancing its territoriality without compromising its wholesomeness.

Territoriality, Salubrity, combined with Quality and Drinkability are the four characteristics that we try to improve from year to year, through careful management first in the vineyard and then in the cellar, to transmit, to those who will choose to try our wines, all the beauty and pleasantness of our territory.

We have always paid great attention to the presence of sulfites, which in our wines is always less than 50% of the legal threshold; since 2011 we produce “La Rivoltosa,” a Barbera S02 Free.

SUSTAINABILITY.

We are proudly part of FIVI, whose philosophy and principles we share. After sustainable vineyard management that began in the 1990s, when we started following the rules of integrated agriculture with the abolition of herbicides and minimal use of synthetic fungicides, we recently obtained organic certification.

To keep the vineyards fertile and alive we rely on natural fertilizers such as manure and the practice of green manure; where there is no green manure there is natural grassing managed with periodic mechanical mowing; we use the technique of sexual confusion to counteract the presence of pests.

A photovoltaic system provides us with electricity that covers most of the farm’s needs, and soon the system will be renovated and expanded to achieve complete self-sufficiency.

We recover the rainwater we use in the vineyards.

We are gradually replacing our traditional bottles with lighter bottles, aware that the weight of the bottle glass is directly proportional to the amount of CO2 developed in the production of the bottle itself.

THE PLACE.

Santa Giuletta (PV) is a municipality mentioned as early as the 10th century, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa assigned it to Pavia. Today it is divided into two cores, the older one, the hamlet Castello, stands on the hill; the more modern core, called La Villa, lies at the foot of the hill. Being in the first range of hills, an optimal area for red wine production, the maximum altitude, marked by the peak of Monte Zavo, is 346m above sea level. Sufficient sandstone was extracted from this hill for the construction of parts of the basilicas of San Michele and San Pietro in ciel d’oro, both in Pavia, and the Certosa di Pavia, places of worship of international importance. A historical and somewhat curious fact about this small town is that, until a few decades ago, it was known as ‘the town of dolls,’ because it was active in the production of dolls headed by FATA, a Milanese factory taken over in the early postwar period by two young people from Santagiulettesi. It closed in the 1960s due to the industrialization of the production. Today, in memory of this pride of craftsmanship, it is possible to retrace every phase and period in the Civic Historical Cultural Museum of Dolls and Toys “Quirino Cristiani.”