Imported by Wade & Clark Wine Imports, Hawthorne, New York

Il Follo produces a small portfolio of precisely crafted, classic sparkling wines from its own vineyard in the cru of Cartizze as well as from fruit purchased from some of the finest growers of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and Treviso. Made in brut, extra dry and dry styles, they include a regional prosecco, spumante, rosé, three special cuvées and the single vineyard bench-mark wine, Cartizze Dry.

Prosecco is made by a method variously known as 'cuve close,' 'Charmat,' 'Martinotti' or simply bulk method. The idea was first developed in the mid 1800s by a Piedmontese oenologist, Federico Martinotti, who sought to simplify the lengthy and expensive méthode champenoise by inducing effervescence into the wine before, rather than after, bottling. Martinotti never succeeded in developing a commercially viable process, an accomplishment finally patented by French oenologist Eugène Charmat in 1907. Consistency of quality remained elusive until Antonio Carpene introduced refinements in the process specifically focused on Prosecco in the late 1930s.

The method as it has now evolved begins, for quality oriented produc-ers, with a hand harvest, sorting and destemming followed by a conventional soft press and primary fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks without subsequent malolactic fermentation. The secondary fermenta-tion takes place in tank after the addition of yeast and sugar under conditions controlled for pressure as well as temperature. The wine remains under pressure from clarification and filtering through bottling, which occurs a few months after harvest. Wines are made in fully sparkling spumante and frizzante styles at three levels of residual sugar: brut, at zero to 12; extra dry, at 12 to 17; and dry, at 17 to 32 grams per liter. For the Glera variety, unsuited to aging, this has the advantage of delivering a fresh, aromatically vibrant wine that draws its expression from the variety and complexity of its terroir rather than extended lees contact and bottle age.

Cartizze Dry is produced from Il Follo's estate vineyard and that of an affiliated grower in the cru of Cartizze. Harvest typically occurs in early October. Pale straw with gold highlights, the wine is crisp, fresh and gently sweet, with aromas and flavors of white fruit, citrus and rose petal offset by almond notes. Finely balanced acidity leads to a clean, vibrant finish.

Blend: 100% GleraAlcohol: +/-11%Total Acidity: 5.5 gr/lResidual Sugar: 25 gr/l

Drink: at 8°C (46°F) within a year of release and at

most two years; store at 15°C (60°F) or cooler

Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze D.O.C.G.

Imported by Wade & Clark Wine Imports, Hawthorne, New York

Venezia

TREVISO

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene

Superiore di Cartizze

Prosecco di Conegliano-

Valdobbiadene

Santo Stefano

Il Follo is a producer of Prosecco established in 1960, owned by the Follador family. The firm takes its name from the hamlet of Follo, nestled at the foot of the hill of Cartizze in the Valdobbiadene zone of Treviso near the eastern border of the Veneto. The sense of the original term, and the family name, 'follador,' applied to one who cultivated agricultural products and transformed them for consump-tion. In Venetian dialect, 'follare l'uva' still refers to pressing grapes to make wine.

Introduced by the Romans early in their occupation, vines have been cultivated in Treviso for centuries. In 1772 a vine named Prosecco, after the eponymous town in Trieste, was first identified in the area. Until 2009, the vine and the wine were synonymous, but the grape variety is now referred to as Glera, distinct from the wine and its zone of production. Glera must by law account for 85 percent of a Prosecco blend, and Verdiso, Perera, Bianchetta, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio may alone or together account for the rest.

Treviso's climate is mild and semi-Alpine, dictated by cool mountain winds moderated by Adriatic breezes blowing inland by only thirty miles from the water, creating wide temperature variations from day to night in summer. The Cartizze cru lies on a steep, southerly exposed hill composed of diverse soils. Rich in mineral salts and based on varied clays with moraines, formed from glacial deposits, and sandstone, this soil structure allows both drainage and groundwater retention to assure constant reserves of water for optimum vine development. This mesoclimate, perfectly suited to the Glera vine, results in sparkling wines of excellent aromatic intensity and varietal distinctiveness.

The Il Follo estate is situated at Santo Stefano, one of three villages, of which the other two are Saccol and San Pietro di Barbozza, that define the Cartizze Superiore cru of Valdobbiadene. Cartizze occupies only 262 acres within the 12,500 acre Prosecco Conegliano-Valdoibbadene D.O.C.G., which received its classification in 2009. Conegliano-Valdobbiadene in turn lies within the Prosecco D.O.C zone that extends over the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, of which the most noted province is Treviso. Il Follo's 12.5 acres of vineyards in Cartizze surround the estate on the hill of Piagar, and beyond this the firm purchases grapes from throughout Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and Treviso. Roughly half the production is from owned vineyards and half from long affiliated growers.

Present generations of a long ancestral lineage, Vittorio Follador and his son, Luca, share management of the estate. Vittorio carries forward the role of his own father, Attilo, in viticulture and grower relationships. Luca acts as with the technical advice of a nearby oenological laboratory, and also directs sales.