Storia
Agricultural setting
Feudi Branciforti dei Bordonaro is centred on Tenuta Gelso Grande in the Trapani countryside. The estate places its work within a long local agricultural tradition encompassing viticulture, olive growing and fruit growing. Its contemporary project is focused on expressing the identity and multiple forms of Sicilian wine through native and international grape varieties.
Product-project chronology
The earliest stated first production is the 2002 Catarratto. Jolie followed in 2015 as an Extra Dry sparkling cuvée made exclusively from native white varieties by the short Martinotti method.
In 2021, first vintages were produced for Merlot, Syrah and Nero d’Avola. The Merlot and Syrah extended the estate’s work with international varieties, while Nero d’Avola represented its principal named native red variety.
The 2022 chronology includes the first stated vintages of Chardonnay, Grillo and Rosato. Rosato arose from a project to explore the blending potential of native and non-native grapes, combining Nero d’Avola with Merlot and harvesting the varieties at separate stages of ripeness.
Across the range, the estate’s stated direction is to unite established agricultural knowledge with carefully controlled vinification, preserving the distinguishing sensory character of each native or international variety.
Terroir
Location and landscape
Tenuta Gelso Grande, the production heart of Feudi Branciforti dei Bordonaro, lies in the Trapani countryside between Mount Erice and the Egadi Islands. Its vineyards occupy gently rolling hills close to the coastal belt, generally between 300 and 400 m above sea level. The Chardonnay vineyards are described as lying a short distance from the coast within a Mediterranean macroclimate; the sea moderates both daily and annual temperature variation.
The surrounding landscape has supported viticulture, olive cultivation and fruit growing over centuries. Native vines alternate with international varieties, and each variety is assigned to a particular part of the vineyard to secure appropriate sunlight exposure.
Soils
The general soil profile is medium-textured loam with a clay component, a measured limestone content and a balanced mineral composition. Most current vineyard specifications describe medium-textured soils tending toward clay. The vineyard supplying the Jolie sparkling cuvée is instead described as medium-textured and tending toward limestone.
Exposure and elevation
Current technical specifications place most named varieties on north-facing sites at approximately 300 m above sea level. Nero d’Avola is on a south-facing site at approximately 300 m. The estate’s broader vineyard zone extends to 400 m.
Vinificazione
Sustainable vineyard management
The estate follows a sustainable-viticulture approach intended to protect vineyard ecosystems while maintaining consistent, high-quality production. Human work is conceived as support for natural processes rather than their replacement. Vineyard decisions account for soil type, vine variety, adaptation and balance throughout the plant’s development.
Soil condition has been studied through insects and bioindicator plants. Where deficiencies are identified, plants with detoxifying properties are introduced to help restore balance. Green manure is used as a natural soil-management tool, while earthworms contribute carbon to the natural formation and fertility of humus.
Vegetation is encouraged between the vine rows to moderate soil temperature, retain natural moisture and promote biodiversity. Maintaining microbial life and a healthy soil is treated as fundamental to vine vigour and grape quality.
Herbicides are excluded throughout the vineyards. Preventive vine treatments are applied only when a disease has appeared in the surrounding region. Gentle or late pruning is preferred. The estate defines its gentle method as a relatively high pruning approach that respects sap flow and reduces injury to the plant; the intended result is to preserve vine vitality and phenolic resources while directing more energy toward the grapes rather than wound healing.
The Gelso Grande vineyards are laid out to retain grape freshness and organoleptic character for predominantly varietal wines. Each variety is planted in a vineyard portion selected for suitable exposure.
Training, density, yields and harvest
The current technical specifications predominantly give vertical trellising with Guyot pruning, 4,200 vines per hectare and yields of 8,000 kg/ha. The Jolie source vineyard has 4,000–4,500 vines per hectare and yields of 7,000–7,500 kg/ha. Harvesting is manual across all currently specified vineyards; Jolie fruit is collected in crates. Picking extends from the beginning of August for Chardonnay to the latter part of September for Catarratto and Nero d’Avola.
Production principles
Winemaking is directed toward retaining and highlighting the organoleptic identity of each native or international grape variety. Harvest and vinification are treated as a gradual process extending from early August into the latter part of September as the different varieties reach maturity.
White-wine production
Chardonnay, Catarratto and Grillo undergo gentle pressing followed by temperature-controlled fermentation. Chardonnay ferments at 18°C for 10 days. Catarratto ferments at 16–18°C for 10 days, while Grillo ferments at 16–18°C for 10–12 days. These white wines mature for three months in stainless-steel tanks on their fine lees, followed by one month in bottle.
Red-wine production
Merlot and Syrah are made by traditional red maceration in temperature-controlled stainless-steel fermenters. Fermentation takes place at 24°C for 8–10 days, followed by malolactic fermentation. Each matures for three months in American-oak barriques and then for six months in bottle.
Nero d’Avola follows traditional red vinification in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks at 24°C, with a 10-day fermentation and completed malolactic fermentation. It matures for two months in American-oak barriques and six months in bottle.
Rosato production
Nero d’Avola and Merlot are harvested separately to respect their different ripening schedules. The fruit receives three to four hours of cold skin maceration, followed by gentle pressing and temperature-controlled fermentation. Fermentation is conducted at 24°C for 8–10 days, and the finished wine receives one month of bottle maturation.
Sparkling-wine production
Jolie is composed exclusively of native white varieties. Its aromatic and semi-aromatic grapes are harvested at different times between the latter part of August and the first days of September. The varieties are vinified separately to create base wines with different balances of freshness and softness. Base wines from the same vintage are then blended and undergo a short Martinotti process. Fermentation lasts 8–10 days; the wine is finished at Extra Dry dosage, matures for two to three months and receives one month of bottle ageing.
Filosofia
Feudi Branciforti dei Bordonaro frames its production philosophy around quality, respect for nature and the meeting of agricultural tradition with deliberate oenological design. The estate seeks harmony with its vineyard environment and gives priority to traditional knowledge alongside a “green-friendly” approach.
Its sustainable-viticulture philosophy is presented as a change in mindset and working methods rather than a single technical intervention. The objective is to protect vineyard ecosystems, preserve microbial life and maintain wine-growing land over time while continuing regular, quality-focused production.
In both vineyard and cellar, intervention is intended to assist natural processes. Soil type, vine species, adaptation and balance are monitored through the growing cycle, while vinification aims to preserve the individual organoleptic character of native and international grapes. The broader wine project is conceived as an expression of Sicilian identity and its multiple forms rather than the imposition of a uniform style.