More than 10 years ago when we travelled the dirt road that leads to the Antica Quercia for the first time, we felt obliged to respect every single centimetre of this land. We felt so small beneath the Shade of the big Tree and we could only embrace a cultivation method that respects these trees. Growing grapes in this way is not easy, but it makes us happy. We have chosen organic growing because we feel it is the best choice, maybe we could give it another name, but what remains is our focus and the relationship we have created with the plants we have grown over the years.

We start pruning in December. The vineyards sleep and a muffled silence surrounds them, a sacral calm interrupted now and then by the far barking of a dog or the bells of Scomigo church. Our hands move slowly in the cold and our words are encased in the cloud of condensation coming out of our dry lips. Silence. We are accompanied by the sound of shoots being cut, we select the two younger shoots for each arch, eight buds each, the spur at the base and… CIACK!

It is the fruit of a generous plant that produces big, long bunches of golden grapes. It is considered as semi-aromatic due to the aromas it develops immediately in the must, before it turns into wine. It is an indigenous grape variety that has always existed between the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills, and is part of the culture of these places. There is an unbreakable bond between Glera and these hills, and this grape develops its finest qualities on these slopes. In the areas in which the soil is richer in limestone, the bunches are smaller and straggly and give rise to the most elegant bases.