Storia
Ancient viticultural setting
The estate stands in the countryside of San Gaetano, near the ancient town of Caorle and close to the sea. An archaeological site discovered near the vineyards in 1994 provides evidence that viticulture was already present in this area during the Bronze Age.
The Franchetti agricultural estate
In the mid-19th century, the noble Franchetti family, whose interests encompassed culture as well as substantial landed property, recognized the fertility of San Gaetano and set out to establish a self-sufficient agricultural centre there. Podere Amicizia, where Cantine Scala subsequently began, was one of the estates formerly belonging to the Franchetti family.
Baron Raimondo Franchetti became the best-known member of the family and was remembered for his African expeditions. In the dedication to his 1930 book Nella Dancalia etiopica, Raimondo addressed his children Simba, Lorian and Nanuki, whose names recalled places connected with his travels. He later had a daughter named Afdera, who married the American actor Henry Fonda.
Between 1948 and 1953, Ernest Hemingway visited San Gaetano on several occasions. The landscape, duck hunting from blinds and the local wine formed part of his experience of the place, and he set part of Across the River and into the Trees there. One of the novel’s figures was inspired by the boatman Fiorindo Silotto, Carolina’s brother and the Franchetti family’s head gamekeeper at the time.
During the 1960s, Baron Nanuki received numerous members of the international jet set at San Gaetano.
The Scala family’s beginnings
Cantine Scala began when Ernesto Scala started cultivating Podere Amicizia. Together with his wife Carolina, he passed on both respect for the inherited agricultural patrimony and an understanding of his project to their children and later generations.
The present generation
The business is now led by Ernesto’s grandchildren Astrid, Tranquillo and Fabio, supported by other family members. Their work continues the family project of growing grapes and transforming them into wine while combining inherited agricultural traditions with modern winemaking methods.
Terroir
The estate lies in the countryside of San Gaetano, near the ancient town of Caorle and within reach of the sea. The local climate is temperate, with clear days, a light but persistent maritime breeze and a marked difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. This diurnal variation supports even grape ripening.
The soils are rich in clay and calcium and also contain a substantial skeletal or coarse mineral component. The clay- and calcium-rich structure supports vine growth and contributes to the complexity sought in red wines, while the coarse mineral fraction is associated with aromatic complexity in the whites.
The relationship between this environment and viticulture is longstanding: an archaeological site discovered close to the vineyards in 1994 provides evidence of vine cultivation in the area as far back as the Bronze Age.
Vinificazione
Vineyard management is organized around the needs of each stage in the vine’s growth. The work comprises balanced pruning, meticulous leaf removal and timely bunch thinning. At harvest, grapes are selected before crushing.
Cantine Scala has embarked on the national SQNPI integrated-production certification pathway. The system is intended to minimize chemical crop-protection inputs, rationalize fertilization and preserve biodiversity. Compliance is assessed through numerous controls covering every stage of the production chain, and qualifying products may carry the system’s bee logo on their labels.
The broader approach emphasizes careful stewardship and enhancement of both the land and its vineyards, responsible use of resources and protection of the environment.
Grapes are selected at harvest before crushing. Cellar work combines the estate’s inherited traditions with modern winemaking practices. Modern techniques and equipment are chosen with particular attention to achieving meaningful energy savings throughout production.
Filosofia
Cantine Scala defines its work through continuity between family tradition and contemporary production. Respect for the patrimony inherited from previous generations is treated as a responsibility to transmit the land, vineyards and family project onward.
The estate’s philosophy places the land at the origin of its work and calls for attentive, rigorous vineyard care throughout the growth cycle. It combines longstanding agricultural knowledge with selected modern winemaking techniques rather than treating tradition and innovation as opposites.
Quality is linked to responsible resource use, environmental protection, biodiversity and energy-saving production equipment. The stated objective is to make wines suited to a broad range of occasions while meeting the expectations of an increasingly discerning clientele. Continual improvement is conceived as a tribute both to those who began the enterprise and to those who subsequently developed it.