Cantarutti Estate is located in the heart of the Colli Orientali del Friuli, one of the most important DOC area in the whole Region, Friuli Venezia Giulia; San Giovanni al Natisone is a small town in the middle of the Rosazzo hills. The Abbey on the top of the hill is an awesome building which complete this beautiful scenery; the series of hillside vineyards that make up the Estate are caressed by gentle Adriatic breezes which waft from the Gulf of Trieste.
The Estate was founded in the late sixties when Friulian wines and viticulture were finally gaining an international reputation. It was the long view of Alfieri Cantarutti which convinced him to believe and to invest on these, now famous, hills: thanks to his enthusiasm and his love for tradition, the Estate increased its holdings until the present 56 hectares; those feelings and that dedication have been passed to his daughter Antonella, who runs the Winery with her husband Fabrizio. She constancy manages with perseverance the sales & marketing and administrative division, while her husband takes care of the production, the harvest and the vinification.
Cantarutti Estate produces wines of particular interest and value (appreciated both in national and international markets), thanks to accurate varietal selections and appropriate cultivation together with the most sophisticated wine making techniques. The style is more and more recognizable thanks to the personal strong mark; the company gets constantly better and gathers a qualified and well-motivated staff which gets along very well.
Among the wines, besides the already known Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and the autochthon Ribolla Gialla, Tocai Friulano, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Schioppettino and Pignolo, there is the Pinot Nero, real pride and untouchable joy of the Estate, from which are born (only if the vintage has been good) the two millesime: Epilogo and Prologo.
In 1999 there was a first step of change: while Poema (a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) was already well-established, Antonella entered into the markets her own wine, Canto, made of Tocai Friulano, Pinot Bianco and Sauvignon. Since June 2003 two "Grand Cru" selections have been added on the national and international scene: Pinot Grigio Ronco San Michele and Merlot Ronco San Michele; in 2006 it was up to The Spirit of Ghost ... " for leaving, not forgetting and remembering one of the best Friulian wines: Tocai Friulano".
The quality philosophy for making more personal and great wines went on during the 2005 harvest, when Cantarutti Estate started a partnership with an American company, specialized in the use and application of low temperatures: the result of this project is a new Excellence Line of Wines named "Terre di Rosazzo", introduced to the mass media and into the market at the beginning of Spring 2008.
The annual production is about 130.000 bottles; a network of commercial agents takes care of the national market, while abroad (Canada, USA, Japan, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland) there is a great cooperation with competent importers which assure a steady growth together with a more influential and capillary presence.