Masottina

1946 — Epifanio Dal Bianco and the origins of Masottina

Masottina began in 1946, during the post-war period of reconstruction, when Epifanio Dal Bianco acquired the Ai Palazzi estate at Gorgo al Monticano. The property comprised five hectares of vineyards and a farmhouse. During restoration of the farmhouse, an old inscription reading “Masottina” emerged from the original masonry. The rediscovered word became the name and identity of the business.

The project developed around family continuity, respect for the land and the gradual construction of a vineyard holding. In the decades after the acquisition, the family continued buying vineyards and consolidating the enterprise.

Adriano Dal Bianco and technological development

Epifanio’s eldest son, Adriano Dal Bianco, gave the business renewed momentum. After studying oenology at the historic Conegliano Oenology School, he invested year after year in improved production technology. His aim was to establish a recognisable style while maintaining consistent quality.

Adriano placed particular importance on processing grapes both accurately and quickly so that their integrity could be preserved and oxidation limited. This principle eventually shaped the layout and working practices of the family’s winery.

1992 — The move into Ogliano

In 1992, the Dal Bianco family acquired its first hectares on the hills of Ogliano. The family began developing precision viticulture there well before Ogliano received formal recognition as one of the Rive of Conegliano Valdobbiadene. The purchase initiated a long-term programme of planting, vineyard acquisition and close interpretation of Ogliano’s soils, exposures and microclimate.

Adriano and his brothers subsequently created Terre di Ogliano, the agricultural company that controls and manages the vineyard holding assembled by the family. Its facilities include the vinification cellar where Masottina wines are made.

2009 — Recognition of the Rive di Ogliano

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore was elevated to DOCG status in 2009, when the denomination also introduced the Rive indication. Rive identifies the municipality or hamlet from which the grapes originate and requires a more geographically precise expression of the denomination. Ogliano became one of the 43 officially recognised Rive.

The family’s earlier investment acquired new significance through this recognition. Masottina made Rive di Ogliano a central part of its identity, interpreting the locality through vineyards on complementary eastern and western slopes.

2012 — The Terre di Ogliano winery

The first vintage was vinified at the Terre di Ogliano winery in 2012. Conceived by Adriano Dal Bianco together with the second generation, the building was designed around the principle that the requirements of the wine should determine the architecture. Its position in the centre of the vineyard holding shortened the journey from vine to press, while gravity-assisted movement reduced handling of grapes and must.

The cellar brought together gravity, gentle grape treatment, rapid processing and continuing research. It also gave the family direct control over the production chain from vineyard management through vinification and bottling.

The third generation

Adriano’s sons followed Epifanio’s example by beginning with the land and investing in the expansion of the family’s vineyard area. Their arrival initiated a new phase in which innovation was combined with the preservation and further development of earlier investments.

Adriano continues to work alongside Filippo Dal Bianco, Sales Director, and Federico Dal Bianco, Vice President. The three generations’ accumulated work has expanded the vineyard holding from Epifanio’s original five hectares to more than 370 hectares.

2021 — Recognition, bottle evolution and a renewed identity

In 2021, R.D.O. Levante 2019 entered Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines. It was the first wine carrying a Rive indication to reach that ranking. The achievement reinforced Masottina’s interest in the capacity of Rive di Ogliano wines to evolve over time.

The family consequently developed Il Valore del Tempo, a project devoted to the longevity of the Rive di Ogliano and their evolution in bottle. Time, waiting, balance and harmony became explicit parts of the project’s approach to interpreting individual harvests.

Masottina also marked its 75th anniversary in 2021 by renewing its visual identity, combining contemporary presentation with the values and symbols inherited from its past.

2026 — Eightieth anniversary and Heritage Collection

Masottina celebrated 80 years and 80 harvests in 2026. The anniversary was presented as the beginning of a further phase rather than an endpoint. Heritage Collection was created to express the accumulated experience, values and contemporary vision of the Dal Bianco family. Its first chapter, R.D.O. Multivintage Brut, was released in 2026.

The anniversary programme included events in Italy and New York, where the Heritage Collection was introduced to the United States. The renewed visual identity, the study of wine over time and the continuing work in Ogliano were brought together as parts of the same intergenerational project.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene

Masottina’s hill vineyards lie within Conegliano Valdobbiadene, a zone encompassing 15 municipalities between Valdobbiadene in the northwest and Conegliano in the southeast. The landscape combines forests, small settlements and vineyards in a mosaic pattern. Its characteristic elements include its geomorphology, the use of grassed embankments known as ciglioni and the interlocking agricultural landscape. The hills became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

The zone lies between the sea and the Prealps. This position creates a temperate microclimate with an annual average temperature of 12.3°C and constant ventilation that helps maintain healthy grapes. The land originated through the uplift of ancient marine and lake beds, while Dolomite glaciers remodelled part of the hills and deposited varied sediments. Slopes tend to be gentler around Conegliano and steeper, with stronger southern exposure, around Valdobbiadene. Combinations of soil, slope and exposure distinguish the 43 Rive.

Ogliano

Ogliano is one of the 43 Rive and the easternmost part of the denomination’s first zone. Its landscape consists of rolling vineyard hills interspersed with woodland, with churches and bell towers marking the summits. The Dal Bianco family and Terre di Ogliano cultivate almost 20% of Ogliano’s entire planted vineyard area.

Ogliano is the only Riva of Conegliano Valdobbiadene formed by glacial action. The retreat of the Piave Glacier created the morainic amphitheatre of Ogliano and Vittorio Veneto and the Fadalto corridor. Its rich, stratified morainic soils contain clay—including rare blue clay dating from the Miocene—silt, sand and stones. The soils are fertile and allow water to penetrate into lower layers, creating a natural reserve during dry periods.

The open Fadalto corridor and absence of natural barriers channel fresh air from the Alps, especially at night. Constant natural ventilation helps dry the grapes, supports their health and concentration and reduces the need for vineyard intervention. Night air also creates a significant diurnal temperature range, with positive effects on grape condition and aromatic development.

The morphology provides complementary east- and west-facing sectors. The eastern side is more exposed to wind and is associated with freshness and aromatic intensity. The more sheltered, compact western side is associated with greater structure, depth, spice and savoury character.

Solighetto and Rolle

Masottina also works with distinct sectors of Conegliano Valdobbiadene outside Ogliano. In its territorial blending, Ogliano supplies complexity and intense fruit character, Solighetto contributes floral expression, and Rolle provides freshness and marked acidity.

Treviso plain

The vineyard holding extends from the hills into flatter sites in the province of Treviso. Prosecco DOC Treviso requires cultivation, harvesting, vinification and bottling to occur within the province. The plain vineyards permit mechanical harvesting at the chosen point of ripeness, while the steeper Ogliano sites require manual work.

Masottina manages more than 370 hectares through Terre di Ogliano, combining practices suited to steep hills with those appropriate to the Treviso plain. Vineyard work is intended to preserve the identity of each terroir while maintaining direct control of the supply chain.

Grapes from Terre di Ogliano are grown under the National Quality System for Integrated Production, or SQNPI. This system requires compliance with a defined environmental and quality protocol. Biodiversity is treated as a practical means of reducing chemical inputs, while the experience and manual work of the growers remain central to vineyard management.

The organic Costabella project comes from third-generation vineyards and centres on respect for the land, the natural equilibrium of the vineyard and preservation of the territory through a more environmentally conscious production model.

Harvest methods vary by terrain. Ogliano’s hills are harvested exclusively by hand. Work begins early, before the hottest part of the day, helping retain grape fragrance and integrity. Pickers inspect each bunch, select it and place it in red crates. The Rive rules also impose a maximum yield of 13 tonnes per hectare and require a declared vintage.

Plain vineyards may be harvested mechanically. Technology is used to gather grapes efficiently at their desired ripeness while protecting their defining characteristics. Regardless of method, all grapes are taken to Ogliano for processing.

Selection begins on the vine. For the most selective hillside harvests, a second selection takes place at the winery. The location of the cellar within the vineyard holding keeps transport short and enables rapid morning processing.

Adriano Dal Bianco’s production model is built around speed, accuracy and limited handling, with the central objective of protecting grape integrity and reducing oxidation. The Terre di Ogliano winery sits in the centre of the vineyard holding so grapes can be processed soon after harvest with minimal movement.

Selection starts in the vineyard and, for the most selective lots, is repeated on arrival. Bunches are guided gently towards the presses. Gravity moves grapes and must through the production sequence, from reception and gentle pressing to the fermentation vats, reducing the need for forceful mechanical transfer.

White vinification takes place off the skins. In representative production protocols, alcoholic fermentation is controlled at 15–18°C. The sparkling stage follows the Italian tank method: selected yeasts work in pressure tanks at 13–14°C, with maturation on the lees in the same vessels. Duration is adapted to the intended expression. Examples range from about 60 days to 90 days, while the two R.D.O. expressions undergo approximately 120 days of secondary fermentation and maturation. A further period of around one month precedes release; for R.D.O. this is bottle ageing.

Tank maturation is monitored closely before the final selection. Lots may be retained as single-vineyard expressions or assembled as cuvées that unite complementary terroirs. The entire chain—from vineyards and grape transport through vinification and bottling—is managed with repeated quality controls.

No preparations of animal origin are used in vinification. Excluded materials include egg or blood albumin, animal gelatine and fish gelatine. Suppliers provide self-declarations confirming that their oenological products contain no animal-derived substances.

Masottina’s method combines inherited practice with continuing technological development. Its declared aim is not to reproduce a generic style, but to preserve the distinct identity of each place while achieving balance, clarity, elegance and consistency.

Five principles structure this approach:

1. Family continuity. The family is treated as an asset for long-term development. Work is experienced directly, with love of the land, protection of its resources and daily enhancement of its value forming a shared intergenerational vision.
2. Investment in vineyards. Expansion of the planted area is pursued together with the protection and enhancement of the surrounding land and its different terroirs.
3. Control and consistent quality. Direct control extends from vineyard work to bottling. Grape transport, gravity-assisted winery design, bottling facilities and repeated checks are supported by continuing investment in technology.
4. Expression of origin. The family invests in particular terroirs, studies their potential and dedicates collections to places that have shaped its identity. Individual sites may be expressed separately, while cuvées are constructed to unite complementary origins in balance.
5. Sustainable transfer to the next generation. Sustainability means passing on a business and territory that retain both natural and human resources rather than being impoverished through exploitation. Agricultural experience is combined with research and technology.

Time also has an explicit role. The Il Valore del Tempo project treats waiting and bottle evolution as essential to balance, finesse and depth, while accepting each vintage as an individual outcome of nature and human care.