Story: Eden on Arbostora
In the Lugano region, 7 hectares of vineyards with a lake view produce high quality wines.
Bring together two women, love of the land, respect for nature and a passion for wine. All concentrated in a wine estate on a sun-kissed promontory overlooking Lake Lugano. A winning combination that produces high-quality wines.
Gaby Gianini and Benedetta Molteni, owner and oenologist of Tenuta Castello di Morcote
Making wine is an art. You need great precision and discipline, along with plenty of creativity.
Ticino boasts a varied landscape where vineyards unfurl through evocative settings. The Tenuta Castello di Morcote is undoubtedly one of them. After making your way through the main gate, the vineyard (7 hectares) unfolds before you in all its glory, located in a natural amphitheatre. At the centre is the winery – housed in a renovated old farmhouse and opened in 2020 – which runs entirely on solar power and operates on an organic (certified) and biodynamic basis. A little further on you can glimpse the ruins of the medieval castle rising up above the lake.
A breathtaking setting for a vineyard that Gaby Gianini, estate owner, has managed to make sustainable over a period of just over 20 years. Together with oenologist Benedetta Molteni, she shares a love for the land and a vision of a cutting-edge winery, where grapes are vinified in the most natural way possible, combining innovation and ancestral rituals. Savouring wine has never been so magical.
The Tenuta Castello di Morcote boasts a long history. The idea of reviving tradition was a fate. The business was started by her grandfather almost 100 years ago. Gaby had studied history of art and didn’t know anything about wine. When it came to taking over the business, she felt a very strong attachment to the land and a calling from within her soul.
She returned to Ticino and she asked her father if she could take it on. After overcoming her family’s initial reticence, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work with great determination.
After finishing her studies in oenology, Bendetta began looking for a place in a family business where she could experience a bit of everything. She was particularly interested in an estate that was committed to sustainability and respectful of the land. Arriving at Tenuta Castello di Morcote in 2020 was a unique opportunity. This firm boasts a particular terroir, with huge potential.
Gaby was already interested in holistic and spiritual matters at the age of 20, and when she took over the estate she decided to apply them here. However, biodynamics is a complex path, which can’t be put in place from one day to the next. She began it here in the estate in 2020, when she reorganised the business founded by Gaby's grandfather Massimo Gianini.
Benedetta arrived the same year and the time was ripe for implementing the biodynamic philosophy.
Being a small business, we get involved in every process.
The ties between all those involved, from the vineyard to the winery, are fundamental. Those in the winery have to know what is happening in the vineyard and vice versa. It’s important that all parties communicate and share information.
In this sense, teamwork is everything: "We’re like a family."
What’s the philosophy behind a quality wine?
For Benedetta it’s all based on respect for the land. They have vineyards near to Morcote and Mendrisio. They’re different terroirs and it’s important to respect the diversity of the grapes from the two locations.
Gaby agrees: "This is the concept behind terroir wines. Making a wine with perfect, high-quality grapes. Obviously there’s also lots of work to be done in the winery. It’s a question of allowing the grapes to best express the terroir they come from."
For Gaby and Benedetta prizes are a pleasure, but they don’t go out looking for them.
"They give us an understanding of what the end consumer likes, enabling us to learn about their tastes. We can also see where our products are placed compared to others."
Now that at the Tenuta everything is up and running, they’d like to make more time for visits of other wineries to seek inspiration.
“The beauty of our work is that there is room for experimentation. We invent something new every year.”
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