Our blogger recently caught up with one of our top producers, Bruno de Conciliis, and the two sat down to taste and discuss Bruno’s Donnaluna Fiano.

One of the ways that Bruno has countered the effects of warmer temperatures during ripening in recent years, he said, was to employ carbonic maceration during the winemaking process.

For those not familiar with the technique, the bunches are placed whole into a tank and the tank is sealed. As the weight of the bunches gently crushes the fruit, the sealed tank captures the CO2 naturally created by fermentation. The CO2-rich environment gives the resulting wine intense fruit and mineral flavors.

“I don’t care so much about the acidity in this wine,” he explained. “It’s hard to attain the acidity I want with the warm temperatures we are seeing during the ripening period. And so I even let this wine go through complete malolactic fermentation. But the carbonic maceration gives it such an intense minerality that the wine is still very fresh” on the palate. “It doesn’t need the acidity” to retain the wine’s signature freshness.

What a fabulous wine and a go-to favorite among wine directors and lovers.