Cantina della Volta

The Bellei family tradition: 1920 onward

The Bellei family’s winegrowing history in Bomporto began in 1920, when Christian Bellei’s great-grandfather Francesco Bellei established Francesco Bellei & C. The original winery building was erected beside the embankment of the Naviglio di Bomporto, close to the town’s 18th-century dock.

The family enterprise subsequently passed to Giuseppe Bellei, commonly known as Beppe. A graduate in oenology from Alba, Giuseppe managed the family winery until the end of the 1990s. Christian worked closely with him both in the vineyards and in the cellar, acquiring the practical and technical foundations of his profession.

By the mid-1970s, Giuseppe had developed a reputation for Metodo Classico sparkling wines made not only from Pinot Nero and Chardonnay but also from Lambrusco. He and Christian made repeated journeys to Épernay to study bottle-fermented sparkling-wine production and adapt the method to grapes processed in Bomporto.

San Lorenzo dietro il Monte

In 1981, Giuseppe purchased the San Lorenzo dietro il Monte estate near Riccò. The property comprises 34 hectares, including 10 hectares of vineyards on a sunny hillside at approximately 650 metres above sea level.

During the 1990s, Chardonnay and Pinot Nero planting material acquired in France was established there. The first harvests supported experimental sparkling-wine production. Giuseppe progressively refined the technique, and wines made from these grapes received recognition in numerous wine competitions. The vineyard later became the source of the Il Mattaglio family of sparkling wines.

Corporate transition and a new project

In 2004, the Bellei brand was acquired by Cavicchioli, while Christian continued to oversee sparkling-wine production. When the Cavicchioli business was acquired by Gruppo Italiano Vini in 2010, Christian chose to begin an independent project with the assistance of a group of wine-loving friends.

Cantina della Volta was founded in 2010 to continue producing high-quality Modenese wines through natural secondary fermentation in bottle. Christian became the fourth active generation of the Bellei winemaking family.

The new company remained in the original Cantina Bellei building beside the Naviglio di Bomporto. Its name recalls the nearby dock where riverboats performed la volta—the manoeuvre required to turn around before navigating back toward Modena. The same history explains the riverboat used as the company emblem.

Development of the range and market

Cantina della Volta began with two wines. By 2019, after nine years, the range had expanded to 14 labels divided between two principal identities: sparkling wines based on Lambrusco di Sorbara from the Modenese alluvial plain and wines based on Chardonnay and Pinot Nero from the historic hillside vineyard at Riccò di Serramazzoni.

Sales rose from 30,000 bottles in 2011, the first commercial year, to 140,000 bottles in 2018, representing average annual growth of approximately 25%. Exports accounted for 21% of 2018 sales, with the United States, Japan and European markets identified as the principal destinations. A 2020 profile placed annual production at approximately 130,000 bottles, primarily Metodo Classico.

Continuity and modernisation

The present cellar combines the practices inherited through the three Bellei generations preceding Christian with equipment dedicated to contemporary Metodo Classico production. Christian directs winemaking and determines cultivation, pruning and harvest policies. The project has continued to focus on bottle fermentation, including its pioneering application to varietal Lambrusco di Sorbara.

Cultivation is managed as part of a quality-control system extending from vineyard to finished sparkling wine. The Riccò Chardonnay and Pinot Nero vineyards are farmed according to organic principles, while the broader approach is described as highly sustainable. No certifying body, certification status or conversion date is identified.

Christian Bellei determines cultivation and pruning policies. Human labour remains central: pruning is performed manually, yields are kept low, and some Lambrusco vines retain the old Bellussi training system. Lambrusco di Sorbara growers work to Christian’s directions, while specialist winery personnel carry out or supervise vineyard work and harvesting.

Harvesting is rigorous and manual. Grapes are placed in small boxes with a maximum capacity of 15–17 kg and handled carefully so that berries remain intact during transport to the winery and until gentle pressing. Vineyard selection begins with identifying the best bunches, and the production protocols emphasise preserving acidity and the condition of the fruit.

A cellar designed around bottle fermentation

Production is centred on fermentation in bottle. Autoclaves are excluded from the sparkling-wine programme and also from the bottle-refermented frizzante style. Most wines follow Metodo Classico, with prolonged maturation in bottle, riddling, disgorgement and, where the style requires it, addition of dosage liqueur.

Pressing and primary fermentation

A Bucher Vaslin press allows gentle, measured pressing and precise separation of press fractions. Selected grapes arrive in small harvest boxes and are protected from crushing before pressing. The preferred juice fractions are clarified and undergo primary alcoholic fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Depending on the cuvée, base wines rest in tank before selected yeasts are added for the prise de mousse.

Secondary fermentation and maturation

Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle. Bottles are stored horizontally in temperature-controlled conditions; detailed cellar protocols use a constant 12°C for maturation. Time on lees varies by cuvée and may extend from less than a year to more than six years. The cellar’s air-conditioning plant maintains the stable temperature required for this extended ageing.

Mature bottles undergo rémuage followed by dégorgement. A modern disgorging and dosing line handles removal of the sediment and the subsequent addition of liqueur d’expédition when required. Zero-dosage expressions are instead refilled with the same wine without added sugar.

The winery treats each stage—from cultivation and fruit selection through pressing, fermentation, maturation and final preparation—as part of one continuous quality-control process.