Ferruccio Carlotto

Ora, Bolzano

The family own 6 hectares of vineyard, thanks to generations of toil, starting with Umberto Carlotto as early as 1940, when he signed up as a sharecropper at the Schlosshof in Mazzon.  He was responsible for his production, but the financial risk was with the landlord, as was the profit.  Umberto carried out his duties with passion for fifty years, together with his brother and then with his son Ferruccio.  He in turn separated from Schlosshof, and started his own business with his daughter, Michela, in 2000, becoming a serious landholder in the then, little known, Mazzon appellation.

The family home is in the village of Ora; above ground there is nothing of note, underground is a vinous palace.  Grapes arrive above ground, drop to be fermented and drop again to be aged.  Their vineyards are planted with red grapes: 25% Lagrein, grown on the rocky, alluvial soils of the Rio Nero; 5% Schiava, grown in a small vineyard near Ora, the balance is Pinot Noir.