Vinification

At the heart of our winery, the barrel cellar is a majestic and atmospheric space where our finest red wines rest for an extended period in noble oak barrels. This silent aging process allows the wine to evolve naturally, developing distinctive aromas, flavours, and colours. With over 300 barrels of various sizes—including barriques, tonneaux, and large barrels—our cellar holds a total capacity of over 4,000 hectoliters . Aging in oak enhances the wine’s sensory complexity, helping it achieve balance and depth. The porous nature of oak allows for oxygen exchange, while its essence infuses the wine with notes of caramel, nuts, licorice, spices, vanilla, and coffee. A true gem of our cellar is Arcis, our 200-hectoliter (27,000-bottle) master cask, one of the largest in use worldwide. Its name, derived from the Latin arx, arcis (meaning “fortress”), symbolizes the protection and refinement of the wine it holds within.

Red wine vinification includes a crucial maceration phase, during which the grape skins remain in contact with the must to release polyphenols and tannins. Once the desired colour intensity is reached, the racking process begins, separating the solid parts from the liquid mass. This is followed by malolactic fermentation and aging in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels.

For white wines, grape skins and seeds are immediately separated from the must after crushing. This draining process ensures a gentle extraction, preserving the wine’s freshness and elegance. The must is then filtered, clarified, and transferred into stainless steel tanks for temperature-controlled fermentation. The final step is aging in stainless steel, which stabilizes Monteci’s white wines while maintaining their purity and vibrancy.

The Metodo Classico (or Champenoise Method) is a prestigious sparkling wine technique in which fermentation between yeasts and sugars occurs directly in the bottle. This means that each bottle follows its own unique fermentation journey, making every sparkling wine one of a kind. Starting with a base wine, which can be a blend of different vintages (cuvée) or from a single harvest (millesimato), we add the liqueur de tirage, which triggers the formation of bubbles. Once bottled, the sugars ferment in contact with the yeasts, and the bottles are laid horizontally. Through a gradual turning process (remuage), the yeast sediment is collected in the bottle’s neck. This deposit is then frozen and removed during the disgorging phase (dégorgement). The lost liquid is replaced with a liqueur d'expédition or, in the case of pas dosé sparkling wines, with the same sparkling wine.

The Charmat Method (or Martinotti Method) is another sparkling wine process, where the second fermentation occurs in pressurized stainless-steel tanks (autoclaves). After the primary fermentation, the base wine is transferred to an autoclave, where it is combined with selected sugars and yeasts. This controlled environment encourages the formation of bubbles while preserving the wine’s fresh, floral, and lively aromas. Once fermentation is complete, the sparkling wine is filtered, dosed, and bottled. Charmat Method sparkling wines are light, refreshing, and vibrant, offering a modern expression of elegance and finesse. In Italy, spumante wines produced with the Charmat Method fall under the “special wines” category, due to the addition of sugars during production. Starting with a base wine, which can be a blend of different vintages (cuvée) or from a single harvest (millesimato), we add the liqueur de tirage, which triggers the formation of bubbles. Once bottled, the sugars ferment in contact with the yeasts, and the bottles are laid horizontally. Through a gradual turning process (remuage), the yeast sediment is collected in the bottle’s neck. This deposit is then frozen and removed during the disgorging phase (dégorgement). The lost liquid is replaced with a liqueur d'expédition or, in the case of pas dosé sparkling wines, with the same sparkling wine.