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THE ITALIAN WINE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY:
FATTORIA LA VIALLA DI GIANNI, ANTONIO E BANDINO LO FRANCO SOCIETÀ AGRICOLA SEMPLICE
Fattoria La Vialla is a family-run agriturismo estate, one of the oldest and largest organic and biodynamic farms in Tuscany, and boasts the largest Demeter-certified vineyard in Europe.
The estate was purchased by the Lo Franco family in 1978 and today is run by Brothers Gianni, Antonio and Bandino, who represent the second generation of ownership.
The estate covers around 1,342 hectares, with about 190ha under vine. Planted with Sangiovese, Canaiolo (for Chianti and Chianti Superiore) and Malvasia (for Valdichiana and Vin Santo), the vineyard has been certified organic since 1983 and biodynamic since 2006. La Vialla is also home to 115ha of olive trees and a large area of arable land and forest.
Producing not only biodynamic wine but also high-quality olive oil, grains for breads and other baked goods, as well as pecorino and ricotta cheeses, La Vialla is a popular destination for agritourism for visitors to Tuscany. There are 23 restored farmhouses available for hire and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays guests eat at communal tables under the trees.
La Vialla was one of 10 pilot companies in Italy that participated in research, promoted by the European Commission, which aimed to establish a common set of regulations and necessary requirements for a wine to be certified as organic.
Today the estate is fully independent and eco-sustainable in all stages of the winemaking process, from
cultivating and harvesting to packaging and
shipping. All energy used is renewable and is
supplied by the photovoltaic facility on site, while a phyto-purification plant filters
the water.
NEW ZEALAND WINE PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY, SPONSORED BY HELLMANN BEVERAGE LOGISTICS:
TAKAPOTO ESTATE
It’s always exciting in any awards programme to unearth a new producer making class-leading wines, and this year a surprise discovery is New Zealand’s Takapoto Estate.
Launched with the 2012 vintage, Takapoto Estate is a relative newcomer to the wine scene in New Zealand, although the founder winemaker, Andrew Anderson, who is 48 years old, has been making wine for almost 25 years, with experience in Australia and Spain. The brand was born in 2011 when Anderson struck up a conversation about great Pinot Noir from New Zealand with Mitchell Plaw, who now owns the Takapoto brand and company that produces it, called Profile Farms.
Plaw asked Anderson to make the wine, and it is the inaugural 2012 vintage of the Takapoto Bannockburn Single Vineyard Pinot Noir that has been named the winner of this year’s Pinot Noir Trophy. The Pinot comes from the Central Otago sub-region of Bannockburn, specifically from the Legends Terrace, which sits above the famous Felton Road winery. Anderson said that having tasted through the vineyard he settled on several rows made up of three different clones of Pinot that he felt gave the best expression of the vineyard.
All Takapoto’s wines are made using native yeasts, no additives are used and the wines are bottled after one year in mainly new French oak, unfined and unfiltered. They are
then left to mature in the bottle for four years
before being released. The 2012 Bannockburn Single Vineyard was the first wine produced along with a Gibbston Valley Single Vineyard 2012. These wines are only produced in great vintages, otherwise Takapoto produce a blend of the two, such as in 2013.
Italian Wine Producer shortlist
 Ferrari F.lli Lunelli SpA
 Fattoria La Vialla di Gianni, Antonio e Bandino Lo Franco
Società Agricola Semplice
 Tenute Piccini SRL
 Vigne del Malina Soc. Agr. Bacchetti Roberto e Trevisan
Maria Luisa S.S.
New Zealand Wine Producer shortlist
 Takapoto Estate
 Peregrine Wines Ltd
 Matua Valley Wines Ltd
 Crossroads (Peter Yealands)
 Kim Crawford (Constellation New Zealand)  Villa Maria
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