The Conservatory: the beating heart of Albino Armani quality wines.

The Albino Armani Conservatory: love for the land and for knowledge. It was in 2003 that the Conservatory was born, when it was just a small vineyard in the town of Dolcè, in the Adige Valley of Verona, where recollections of previous times and love for the land triggered a renaissance for ancient species of vines once popular in Vallagarina, but currently in the phase of becoming extinct. Now, at the Conservatory, in cooperation with the Istituto S. Michele all’Adige, we are cultivating 13 such varieties, including both whites and reds. Among them one finds Casetta, also called Foja Tonda – which has been in production since 2004 -, Peverella, Vernazza, Turca, Negrara, Corbina, Corbinella and Nera dei Baisi, which has already attracted enthusiasts at wine tastings. The guiding spirit at the Conservatory is to save the heritage of some of the most ancient varieties native of Vallagarina, and today the project is being extended to include new vineyards dedicated to experimentation and research in the regions of Trent and Friuli. Our drive to acquire profound knowledge of the territory, and of that which has belonged to the territory since antiquity, is the long-term motivation of the Albino Armani vineyards. This is how we approach our land, with respect, and it's a way to make wine which is different from others. It is from these premises, this desire to acquire knowledge through continuous research and innovation, that every wine produced at the Albino Armani vineyards excels as a masterpiece of wonderful flavor, recalling originality and aromas which are unique of their native soil. The Conservatory is a project for today's territory, and a promise for tomorrow's wines.

Today in the region of Trent we are experimenting in selected vineyards of the various areas of production by carrying out high-tech controls on the cultivation of Nera dei Baisi. The purpose of such experimentation is, for the first time in history, to make growing this ancient grape variety official, and we have already surpassed the bottling phase. Also in the region of Trent, at the high-altitude vineyards of Maso Michei, we're now approaching the first harvest of three new aromatic varieties, which are crosses between Malvasia di Candia and Moscato Ottonel, two very renowned varieties in the Central European winemaking areas. These varieties do not require hardly any pesticides, and together they will become parent-components of a new and original type of wine.

In the region of Veneto we are proceeding with our program of in-the-field selection, and of advanced winemaking research applied to Casetta (or Foja Tonda), which today has finally obtained the title of D.O.C. Terra dei Forti. As a matter of fact, working together with winemaking experts from the S. Michele all’Adige Oenology Institute, in 2009 at the Albino Armani vineyards in Dolcè we created a special field for comparison, actually including 67 biotypes taken from old vineyards in Valdadige: after several years of in-the-field analyses, and micro-vinification experimenting in our wine cellar, in the future we will be boasting clones that represent the maximum expression of quality, but in a traditional growing environment.

In Friuli we are already in full swing producing the ten best selections of Sauvignon Bianco known today, which is the fruit of intense efforts made by the Vivai Cooperativi di Rauscedo in selecting clones. That co-op constitutes the greatest nursery structure in the world, and its headquarters are near Albino Armani in Sequals, and also near the ERSA, which is the research center for the region of Friuli: we are expecting great surprises in the field of winemaking, including unique and very aromatic wines, boasting structure and longevity typical of the best Sauvignons in the world today.