Azienda Agricola Canneta is an organic winery in Località Santa Lucia, a locality in the south south-east of the comune of San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. It produced Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG and DOCG Riserva white wines, and a San Gimignano Rosso DOC red.

Founder-owners: Stefano Grandi (speaks very good English) and Valeria Bevilacqua. Stefano has a son (born mid-1980s). They sold the estate to the owners of La Lastra in 2020.

Vineyards: 2002 8ha. | 2003 9ha | 2007 6ha. | 2008 8ha.

Terroir: Sandy soils rich in fossilised Pliocene sea shells. 

Viticulture: 3,000-4,000 vines per hectare (7,400-9,900 vines/acre). Guyot pruning. Permanent grassing to prevent erosion and to lower yields.

Organic certification: 1989 First vintage with full organic certification. | 2018 Still certified organic.

Winery, winemaking: Static settling. Square stainless steel tanks, and cylindrical ones too. Sulfur dioxide is restricted via preferential oxidation of the must. Temperature control. Horizontal press.

Sparkling wines

Satis: A traditional method sparkling wine. | 2013 First vintage. 800 bottles. 50% each Trebbiano Toscano and Vernaccia. The grapes were picked 10 days earlier than for a dry white wine, with 10-11g/l TA, pH 2.97-3.0, and 11º potential alcohol. Pressed. Fermented in a steel tank. 10 months on the lees. Bottled in April 2014. Hand disgorged in Jan 2015 (the bottle neck is chilled in ice) and re-filled with a liqueur d’expedition comprising some of the the same sparkling wine (from another bottle) and a bit of Vin Santo. 12% alcohol. 2g/l residual sugar. TA of about 7. Greeny gold, very savoury, well made when tasted at Millésime Bio January 2015.

White wines

Toscana Bianco, Stornello: A dry white wine made from Trebbiano Toscano. ‘Stornello’ is the Italian word for a starling.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG, Canneta: 90% Vernaccia, 10% Malvasia, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Tank fermented. Made in a clean, fruity-fresh style. | 2013 25,000 bottles. | 2016 Vibrant at the 2019 Anteprima. | 2017 Very hot, dry but less of a problem here for what is a cool terroir. Softer compared to the 2018 at the 2019 Anteprima. Nice texture, green fruit, well made (2019 Anteprima). | 2018 Creamy, clear green fruit at the 2019 Anteprima.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva, La Luna e le Torri: The name means ‘moon and towers’, the latter referring to San Gimignano’s tower-filled skyline. Only 2,000 bottles of this top selection of the best Vernaccia (85%) and Sauvignon Blanc (15%) grapes are made each year. The grape juice ferments for one lunar month in small oak casks (Allier). The wine is then aged on its own fermentation yeast deposit, or lees, until late summer, then it is bottled.

Pink wines

Toscana Rosato IGT, Fiore Rosato di Canneta: A pink wine made from Aleatico and Sangiovese.

Red wines

Toscana Rosso IGT, Merlot di Canneta: 100% Merlot. Unoaked.

Toscana Rosso IGT, Fiore Rossodi Canneta: 70% Sangiovese and 30% Merlot. Short maceration. | 1999 Crisp style, some spritz, high extract, essentially light. Best to serve chilled. | 2001 90% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo & Colorino & Merlot. 12 months in oak. Clean, crisp red fruit, tight style, well selected, perhaps picked too early but good (Millesime Bio 2004). | 2013 50% aged in tonneaux. 50% in steel.

San Gimignano Rosso, Zenit: 70% Sangiovese and 30% Merlot. Longer fermentation than for the Fiore Rosso di Canneta above.

Contact

Azienda Agricola Canneta

Via Località San Lucia, 27

I-53037 San Gimignano (SI), Italy

Tel+39 0577.941540 | Website: www.poderecanneta.it