Conti Sertoli Salis
Conti Sertoli Salis
between modernity and tradition
Since it was born in 1989, Conti Sertoli Salis have been one of the most prestigious and leading wineries in Valtellina.
The company is located in Tirano, where there are both the modern production plant and the refinement cellars, dating back to the XVII century.
The new building - inaugurated in 2003 - is just a few hundred meters from Palazzo Salis (historical headquarters) and allowed the company to increase production capacity and introduce more modern technology for the winemaking (such as some refrigerated pyramidal inox tanks with double walls), the bottling line (through an innovating system of vacuum packed corking) and the warehouse.
The seventeenth century ancient cellars in Palazzo Salis, dug out of the rocks, host the wines meant for long aging in barrels and barriques, and their subsequent refinement in bottles.
Actually the name of the family, Conti Sertoli Salis, has been related to fine wines for over 400 years, as mid of the 17th century they used to supply fine wines to local noblemen, the bishop of Chur and the court of emperor Leopold I of Hapsburg in Austria.
Conti Sertoli Salis purchase the grapes from local farmers whose vineyards and yield are completely under the agronomical control of the winery.
The terraced vineyards range on the slopes of the Rhaetic Alps along 50 kilometers and are located at 600-650 meters above sea level.
The constant flow of warm air from nearby Lake Como and the brightness of the mountain sunlight create an ideal microclimate for the cultivation of the vines.
Due to the location and the nature of the vineyards, the whole growing process is manual, as is the harvest; in some cases it takes up to 30 minutes walking uphill to arrive to destination.
In respect of traditional viticulture in the area, Conti Sertoli Salis went through a historical and technical research, thus enhancing the survival of some ancient autoctone grape varietals and old vinification methods.
They made a very accurate selection of the vineyards located in the best production areas, paying particular attention to the best crus as to soil, sun exposure and microclimate, to obtain high quality wines that are the expression of the terroir.
Here the Nebbiolo grapes (locally called Chiavennasca) find the right environment to develop their potential with an incredible elegance and subtlety.
The winery produces wines according to the main appellations foreseen by the regional disciplinary: this includes some very important wines that stand out for their high quality and uniqueness.
Besides the traditional Valtellina DOC and DOCG ( among which Rosso di Valtellina, IGT Chiavennasca white nebbiolo, Valtellina Superiore Sassella, Inferno e Grumello), Conti sertoli Salis produce a wide range of high quality wines that take their names from the decorated rooms and different parts of Palazzo Salis: Canua sforzato ( best red wine in Lombardy with 2002 vintage and with many awards from the main guides), the Valtellina Superiore Capo di Terra ( late harvest) and Corte della Meridiana (made according to an ancient vinification method called “rinforzo”: it consists of adding to the fresh must some dried grapes left on straw mats for drying for about 3 weeks) , the Saloncello (IGT Terrazze Retiche di sondrio) and a white wine: Torre Della Sirena (obtained by Nebbiolo (chiavennasca), Rossola and Pignola – local red skin grapes vinified as white.
