Loredan Gasparini

The Loredan inheritance

The Loredan family, descended directly from three Doges of the Republic of Venice, chose Venegazzù as the site of its Venetian villa. Before the modern estate took shape, the Spineda family had worked to develop the locality from the sixteenth century; the estate associates the family with the earliest cultivation of Merlot in Italy.

The historic red wine of Conte Loredan originated in the 1950s from a rigorous selection of estate grapes. It combined Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec and established the house’s interpretation of the iron-rich soils of Venegazzù.

1946: Vigneto delle 100 Piante

The estate’s oldest vineyard, Vigneto delle 100 Piante, was planted in 1946. It preserves old, now rare clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec in the red soils of Venegazzù. As the vineyard heritage matured, Conte Loredan began considering a special Riserva of Rosso di Venegazzù during the 1960s.

1964: the first Riserva

The first vintage of the special Riserva was produced in 1964 from the best grapes of the oldest estate vineyard. Made only in limited vintages and quantities, it was soon selected for important occasions, particularly in Venice, and gained admirers internationally. Several heads of state appreciated it, notably French president Charles de Gaulle; the association ultimately gave the wine its name, Capo di Stato.

1967: Tono Zancanaro’s labels

In 1967, Italian artist Tono Zancanaro created two works for Conte Loredan’s Riserva. They represented the feminine uva becoming the masculine vino through a paired female and male image. The works, Des Roses pour Madame and …pour Monsieur la Bombe, became the labels. In subsequent years, regular releases principally retained the male image, while the female label was reserved for particular occasions.

1973: Giancarlo Palla

The modern history of Loredan Gasparini begins in 1973, when Giancarlo Palla took up the inheritance and work of Conte Pietro Loredan. The agricultural business continues under the legal name Azienda Agricola Loredan Gasparini di Palla Giancarlo.

The sparkling-wine tradition

Loredan Gasparini has produced Metodo Classico from Chardonnay grown in its hillside vineyards since the 1970s, following a French-inspired approach based on a gentle secondary fermentation and prolonged lees ageing.

In 1975, a Glera parcel was planted on the Montello hillside. Since 1978, the estate has produced Asolo Prosecco Superiore. Its later Cuvée Indigena project draws on old Glera vines from the 1975 parcel and uses direct, slow fermentation of must with indigenous yeasts selected from estate grapes.

The Asolo Prosecco Superiore project uses grapes exclusively from estate vineyards cultivated with sustainable farming methods on iron-rich Ferreto soils. No certification body, formal organic status or conversion date is identified.

Selection is central to the estate’s vineyard practice. The historic reds originated from the strict selection of estate bunches, while Capo di Stato draws particularly on Vigneto delle 100 Piante. Chardonnay for Metodo Classico is likewise selected from hillside sites, and the Cuvée Indigena fruit comes from the best Glera grapes of a parcel planted in 1975.

Historic reds

The estate’s historic Venegazzù red is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It is matured for 36 months in large oak casks. Capo di Stato is a limited selection of the estate’s best grapes, with particular emphasis on fruit from Vigneto delle 100 Piante.

Cuvée Indigena

Selected Glera from the 1975 Montello parcel is gently pressed. The must is transferred immediately to an autoclave at very low temperature, where fermentation proceeds exceptionally slowly for six months. Only indigenous yeasts selected from the estate’s own grapes are used, without added cultured yeast or sugar. Fermentation begins directly from must rather than from a separately prepared base wine. The low temperature and long duration are intended to preserve the grape’s primary aromas and create a particularly fine mousse.

Metodo Classico

Selected Chardonnay from hillside vineyards is processed so that only 50% of the initial harvest yield is retained as free-run must. The wine undergoes a gentle secondary fermentation followed by extended ageing on the lees. This French-inspired method has been used by the estate since the 1970s.