Mirafiore & Fontanafredda: Synonymous of Clean Wine

Mirafiore & Fontanafredda
Synonymous of Clean Wine

Integrated farming    No weed-killers
Native yeasts            No chemical fertilizers
Recycled glass           No sulfites in the wine

 
1. Casa E. di Mirafiore & Fontanafredda and the new Mirafiore wines
From 2010 Fontanafredda is changing its name to Casa E. di Mirafiore & Fontanafredda.
A name which is both new and old, because the very first name given to this wine estate in Serralunga d’Alba was Casa E. di Mirafiore, where Casa means ‘House’, and E. stood for
‘Emanuele’, Count of Mirafiore and Fontanafredda, the natural son of King Victor Emmanuel II and Rosa Vercellana.
The origins of the name Mirafiore are to be found in what is today a suburb in the south of Turin, where in the XVII century Charles Emmanuel of Savoy purchased some land and had a villa built
with a marvellous garden.
Though neither were to survive the subsequent development of the city, the place was known as Milleflorum, referring to the large number of flowers grown there, and when Victor Emmanuel II
decided in 1859 to elevate Rosa Vercellana – known as the Bela Rosin – to noble rank, he chose the title “Countess of Mirafiore and Fontanafredda” to represent both the residence in Turin and the
estate in Serralunga d’Alba purchased the previous year.
The title was passed on to their son Emmanuel, and subsequently to their grandson Gastone, the heirs of this family of counts who were inextricably linked to the development and expansion of the
wine farm they ran and to the international reputation of Barolo wine.
Today the name Mirafiore represents a new range of special, unique wines in terms of origin, character and personality, which express the precision and importance of the tradition of the great
reds of the Langa (Barolo Riserva Docg, Barolo Lazzarito Docg, Barolo Docg, Langhe Doc Nebbiolo, Barbera d’Alba Doc, Dolcetto d’Alba Doc). They are presented to the market in a bottle that has
been specially produced by Saint Gobain Vetri from 85% recycled glass, recapturing the features of the container used back in the early 1900s.

2. Clean grapes, Clean wine
Mirafiore & Fontanafredda has long been applying the most modern natural integrated farming techniques in order to limit chemical treatments and their impact on the environment, and was the
first in Piedmont to be awarded official “Integrated Agriculture Farm” certification. In keeping with this green philosophy, the company has recently decided to perform a further step by
eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides, and reducing parasite treatments.
The purpose?
To produce “clean” grapes, with plant protection product residues bordering on zero.
The ecological revolution which has become a distinguishing trait of the management of the vineyards is being matched in the winery by the implementation of a research project aimed at limiting
the presence of sulfur dioxide in the wines. While for many years Mirafiore & Fontanafredda had already been using only 50% of the legally-permitted amount of sulfites, since 2009 it has set
itself an even more ambitious target: cutting them by a further half.
This will be achieved thanks to a system developed with the company Air Liquide, which provides for the use of two natural elements in protecting the product, starting from when the grapes are
crushed: carbon dioxide (captured from the environment and used in gaseous, but also liquid and solid forms) in the first stage of the vinification, and nitrogen (in a gaseous form) in the
subsequent steps.
Both elements create a sort of screen which helps avoid any contact of the product with oxygen and the resulting oxidation.
A research project developed by Mirafiore & Fontanafredda in association with the Faculty of Agriculture of Turin University is also being undertaken to select native yeasts – i.e. yeasts
sourced from the estate vineyards.
This research, which began from nebbiolo grapes on the Lazzarito vineyard, aims to ascertain the actual indigenous nature of the yeasts (typical character) and their use in obtaining the intended
products (quality).

3. The new distribution project (high quality wines, food and drinks)
Mirafiore & Fontanafredda has been producing wine since 1858 and marketing it since 1878.
What’s new in 2010 is that sales and distribution are being extended to include other wineries and producers of high quality food and drinks.
The common denominator is that they are “clean” in their ethics and production: that means “clean” products” grown on “clean” land.
Products which are produced independently (strongly localized and resulting from specific traditions), but distributed jointly, forming a network comprising more than twenty companies.
The ten Italian wineries represented (Mirafiore & Fontanafredda, Borgogno, Serafini & Vidotto, Brandini, San Romano, Castello di Santa Vittoria, Cascina degli Ulivi, Candida Gonzaga,
Poggio Bonelli, Terranima) are joined by a range of twenty European wine producers selected by Otto Geisel (President of Slow Food Germany), Montanaro grappa, Barolo Borgogno vinegar, Lurisia
drinks (water, beer, chinotto and lemonade), Gragnano Afeltra artisanal pasta, Antica Ardenga cured meats (Slow Food presidium), Agrilanga cheeses (Slow Food presidium), “La Granda” meat (Slow
Food presidium), “Buono Sano Piemonte” Consortium fruit and vegetable purées, Hue Hue coffee, Roi oil and flour from Mulino Marino in Cossano Belbo.

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