Two centuries ago the Cesarini Sforza family was involved in the governing of the Duchy of Parma, when a member of the family was appointed Podestà (mayor) of Trento, and the family moved to the Bishopric of Trento. At that time the Trentino economy was dominated by agriculture, and noble families such as the Cesarini Sforza took great pride in owning top vineyards from which to produce excellent quality wines.
In 1974, a group of Trentino wine entrepreneurs founded the Azienda Spumantistica Cesarini Sforza, with the aim of producing quality spumantes which would impress not only the people of Trentino, but consumers all over Italy as well.
Over the past few years, Cesarini Sforza has come to represent a significant share of the domestic and indeed international market for spumante wines.
In July 2001, all of the Cesarini Sforza Spumanti stocks were purchased by the Cantina La Vis winery and by the importers F.lli Rinaldi Importatori.
Through this acquisition, the Cesarini Sforza production has been further enhanced by the vine-growing and wine-producing expertise of the Cantina La Vis which for years has been committed to important production system optimisation projects such as the Quality Project and the Zonation Project, thus guaranteeing the production of a certified raw material coming from the best Trentino vineyards of the most suited areas. From the commercial viewpoint, Cesarini Sforza also avails itself of the grassroots sales network of the wine importers Flli Rinaldi Importatori, a company that counts a staff of 130 people specialized in the distribution of a rich portfolio of wines and spirits.
Cesarini Sforza Spumanti is therefore poised to harvest the results of a highly innovative market approach based on the channelling towards a single objective of the skills of three companies perfectly integrated one with the other in terms of production line: Cantina La Vis, with its top quality certified grapes; Cesarini Sforza, with its long-standing experience in the production of Metodo Classico and Metodo Charmat ³Cesarini Sforza² spumante wines; Fratelli Rinaldi Importatori, with the expertise of their widespread and skilled sales network.
The terroir of the grapes used to obtain the base spumante wines by Cesarini Sforza is represented by the La Vis Vineyard. The Zonation Project of the Cantina La Vis, with its scientific approach coordinated by the San Michele all¹Adige Agrarian Institute established in the early Nineties and resulting in the publication of the Atlante Viticolo (Viticultural Atlas) in 1998, has provided all partner/producers with the chance of gaining in-depth knowledge of the viticultural-enological potentialities of their own vineyards through evaluations and observations in terms of pedology, agronomy and enology.
The close cooperation between the agronomists of the Cantina La Vis with the Cesarini Sforza enologists, the results of the Zonation Project and the response obtained by the Chardonnay and Pinot Nero grape varieties, have allowed for the accurate selection of the zones and sites most suited for the production of spumante base grapes. To this end, in particular two adjacent areas have been defined:
- The vineyards of the medium-high elevation zones of the Colline Avisiane (Avisio hills) located in the Valle dell¹Adige in the townships of Lavis and Giovo, at an elevation of 250 to 550 m a.s.l., feature a subalpine continental climate with westerly exposure, and relatively deep, structured and well-drained soils with an average content of clay;
- the highest vineyards of the Valle di Cembra that reach up to 700 m a.s.l., feature an almost Mediterranean climate positively affected by Lake Garda¹s Ora wind that guarantees in a natural way a temperature gradient between night and day, in the period that precedes harvest, ranging between 18° and 27°C. The soils, that are mostly exposed to the south in a semicircular layout and stand on a vast porphyry platform, have a medium structure, are not too deep, not too fertile and are well drained.
The grapes come from terraced vineyards, grown over simple Trentino pergolas although in the last few years these have been upgraded to an arrangement in rows, so as to pass from 4500 vinestocks/ha to 5000-6000 vinestocks/ha.
Output per plant range on average between 2.5 to 2 kg, with an average grape cluster weight lower than average due to the effect the elevation has on the number of grapes and the average weight of each grape.
The result is scanty clusters with nicely ripened, healthy grapes of correct acidity, ideal for the production of especially elegant spumante base wines.
The style, quality and culture of Cesarini Sforza are guaranteed by their long-standing experience in spumantemaking and by the synergy achieved between the various stages from vine-growing to spumante-making through their acquisition by the Cantina La Vis winery and the F.lli Rinaldi Importatori distributors.
The new strategy is based on three strong points: quality, image and culture.
These three values are the objectives through which Cesarini Sforza can become the Trentino company that produces spumante wines through a recognised and proven production line together with a great capability for promoting its products and for placing them on the market.
Quality is guaranteed and certified by the provenance of the grapes, by the Quality Project, by the Zonation Project, by the close collaboration between the Cesarini Sforza enologists and the Cantina La Vis experts, by the constant care and checks applied to all production phases. Within their ample and multiphase marketing project, an in-depth revision of the range of products has rationalized the portfolio, has redefined the standings and has generated important trademark and packaging restyling as well as a significant promotion campaign. Important structural and technological investments will be aimed at boosting production up to two million bottles per year and at optimising overall Cesarini Sforza quality. The winery is being expanded in order to welcome food & wine tourism.
