Il Torchio
Among the gentle slopes that descend to the plain of Luni, in Castelnuovo Magra, where the village houses and the Bishop’s Palace overlook the vineyards. There’s a Torchio, an olive press machine that Luigi Tendola used in his olive oil business, where all the olive growers of the area used to go and get their oil ready. Although there was a wine production for own consumption and for the nearby taverns, when the son Giorgio took over, with his “weight” and his ideas, he decided to take seriously the activity of winemaker and start bottling their own wines. Today the winery bears the name “Il Torchio” to identify a tradition , a status that was . Its vineyards, a few hectares arranged radially inside a basin that descends steeply to the valley ever, are exposed to the south, halfway up, with the Adriatic sea in the background. Only a small portion are higher, just below the village of Castelnuovo, surrounded by woods, in a lieu- dit called Linero . Current production is around 50,000 bottles which are divided among the mainly Vermentino dei Colli di Luni , Colli di Luni Red and White Table Linero.
Vocation – Winemaking is a vocation and by all means cannot be bought or planned, it can slowly grow or simply just erupt as you either have it or not. If you have it, winemaking becomes passion, if you don’t it becomes work. Surely this isn’t questionable at Il Torchio where Gilda and her brother Edoardo, representing the fourth generation, took over the winery with all its responsibilities, difficulties and hard work, when they were respectively 26 and 18.
The wines
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"Il Bianco" Vermentino IGT – 2018
White 100% Vermentino • Vines Age over 15 years old • East-West Exposure • Clayey Soil • Altitude 50 mt asl (3km away from the sea) • Overnight pellicolar maceration and Fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts of the flower must lasts for 15 days • 5 months ageing in stainless steel vats on its lees • At least 1 month of bottle fining before the release -
"Stralunato" Vermentino VDT – 2016
White Vermentino, Moscato Giallo and Sauvignon • Vines Age over 30 years old • Various Exposures • The Lower part of the vineyard has a Clayey Soil and the higher limey soil • Altitude 50-100 mt asl • Two separate vinifications for Aromatic grape varieties and Vermentino • 7-10days long skin contact and the fermentation lasts in 500L Allier oak Casks; same process for the Vermentino • 5 months on its lees • At least 2 months of bottle fining before the release -
"Il Logorroico" Rosso VDT – 2018
Red Vermentino Nero, Sangiovese and Merlot in equal parts • Vines Age over 30 years old • Various Exposures • The Lower part of the vineyard has a Clayey Soil and the higher limey soil • Altitude 50-100 mt asl • 10 days of skin maceration and fermentation in 500l -225l oak barrels with indigenous yeasts • 5 months ageing in the same casks • At least 6 months of bottle fining before the release
