History
Historical setting
Col di Rocca places its origins within the long viticultural history of the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills. The estate associates the local presence of the Prosecco grape with a tradition extending over centuries and notes that some scholars trace the variety in this territory to the Roman Empire.
Col di Rocca
Col di Rocca is presented as a young wine-producing enterprise in the Prosecco District of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. It tends estate-owned vineyards on the undulating hills of the province of Treviso, in the locality of Collalto within Susegana. The vineyards, winery and wines are conceived as an expression of the relationship between the people who work there and the surrounding Veneto landscape, joining local tradition with a contemporary approach to production.
The operating agricultural entity is Soc. Agr. RIVA DI ROCCA S.S. di Emanuela Maria Bragato & C., based at Via Cucco 72 in Collalto di Susegana.
Terroir
Location and landscape
The vineyards lie in the Prosecco District of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, on the gently undulating hills around Susegana in the province of Treviso. Vineyards alternate with woodland and meadows and are bordered by hundreds of olive trees, shrubs and other patches of vegetation.
A study by ESAV, the Agricultural Development Agency of the Veneto region, conducted with the University of Milan and the Higher Institute for Viticulture of Conegliano, identified Riva di Rocca as an area of particularly strong viticultural potential within the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene DOCG territory. The estate was classified in this work as a privileged site for growing grapes intended for sparkling wine.
Slopes and microclimate
The slopes receive favourable solar radiation, contributing to grape sugar levels above the cited average. Pronounced day-to-night temperature changes during ripening encourage mature, spicy aromatic notes and greater aromatic complexity in Prosecco.
Soils
The hills of Susegana consist predominantly of blue clays and conglomerates, much of them dating to the Pliocene, approximately five million years ago. These formations were subsequently uplifted during the Quaternary, specifically the Pleistocene. The vineyard soils have a high limestone content, with marl mixed with conglomerates and gravel. Their mineral supply is associated with sapidity and fullness in the wines.
Geological formation
The present landscape reflects geological processes that began in the Miocene and continued through the glacial period. During the Pleistocene, warmer interglacial phases alternated with colder phases in which extensive ice caps developed. Advancing ice changed river courses and pre-existing topography and removed vegetation, while meltwater opened new channels and deposited debris across the plains.
The nearest major formation was the Piave glacier, whose basin near Ponte nelle Alpi was substantially larger than the present river corridor. Its principal branch turned south-west through Val Belluna. A smaller branch descended through Val Lapisina: one arm entered the Valle del Soligo around present-day Longhere, Revine, Lago and Follina, while another passed through the Serravalle gap and expanded towards the plain. Its retreat formed the morainic amphitheatre of Vittorio Veneto and neighbouring areas around Conegliano, including Susegana.
This morainic activity shaped the gentle Susegana hills and their clay-rich soils, which contain abundant calcium carbonate and trace elements. These components are associated with finesse, sapidity and elegance in the wines.
Winemaking
Every grape processed by Col di Rocca comes from estate-owned vineyards. Older vines are trained to Sylvoz at 3,000–3,500 vines per hectare, while newer vineyards use bilateral Guyot at 4,000 vines per hectare. Vineyard yields and grape characteristics are managed to satisfy the requirements of the Conegliano–Valdobbiadene DOCG production regulations.
The vineyards are deliberately integrated into a varied landscape of woods, meadows, olive trees, shrubs and other vegetation. Anti-parasite treatments are kept to a minimum, and the products employed are selected with environmental and consumer protection in mind. Wines originating from these sites are described as free of plant-protection-product residues.
A team of agronomists assists with vineyard management and the production of quality grapes. At harvest, grapes are carefully selected and picked by hand.
The grapes are carefully selected and harvested manually. Sparkling-wine production follows the Charmat method, with fermentation under controlled temperature conditions at 16–17°C.
For the three white Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG expressions—Brut, Extra Dry and Dry Millesimato—the documented fermentation period is 25–30 days. The Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato Extra Dry undergoes a longer documented cycle of 60–70 days.
The white DOCG expressions are produced from Glera alone. The rosé is made from 87% Glera and 13% Pinot Nero.
Philosophy
Col di Rocca frames its work as an act of attachment to the Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills and seeks to interpret the genius loci of the Veneto landscape. Wine is understood as the combined result of human work and the environment, with each bottle connecting the histories of both and linking tradition to modernity.
In the vineyards, this outlook is expressed through deliberate integration with surrounding woods, meadows, olive trees and spontaneous vegetation. The objective is to retain an environment that is as intact and diverse as possible, while limiting anti-parasite treatments and selecting products intended to respect the environment and protect consumers.