History
Family origins in Mese
The family story began in Mese, in Valchiavenna, at the beginning of the 20th century. Mamete Prevostini’s grandparents devoted themselves to an early form of agriturismo: they cultivated fruit and vegetables, made hams, sausages and cheese, and produced wine. Their products were initially offered to travellers who stopped for a meal beneath the trees.
A natural cavity between the mountain rocks served as their cellar and refrigerator. Known locally as a crotto, it maintained stable humidity and temperature through a natural current of air. Mamete’s father continued the grandparents’ tradition of hospitality, and Mamete grew up helping him, with the smell of grape must during the autumn harvest becoming one of his defining childhood memories.
The historic premises were subsequently renovated. The family’s Crotasc restaurant is now managed by Mamete’s sister, while the original rock cavity holds a reserve of the finest vintages from the family’s Valtellina production.
Development of the vineyards
In 1996 Mamete acquired Sommarovina, his first vineyard. Located on a hilltop at Triasso in the Valtellina Superiore Sassella area, it was replanted with Nebbiolo in longitudinal rows.
Nebbiolo has been cultivated inside the ancient walls of the Convento di San Lorenzo in Sondrio since 2005. A later vineyard project involved replanting, revised planting density and new pruning techniques; by the 2017 harvest the vines were considered to have reached full maturity, allowing lower yields and more selective harvesting.
The La Cruus project began in 2010 in the fragmented Inferno sector of Montagna in Valtellina. Small areas of land clinging to the rock were consolidated and stabilised before new Nebbiolo vines were planted longitudinally around the contour of the hill. The inaugural La Cruus vintage was 2015. In 2018 that first vintage received 97 points and a Platinum–Best in Show medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards.
A new production cellar
A purpose-built production cellar was established at Postalesio, surrounded by vines and facing the Orobie Alps. It was conceived to reduce contamination, handle grapes as naturally as possible and combine technological precision with respect for raw materials, workers and the environment.
The 3,000 m² building was organised over three levels so that production could progress vertically: grapes are dried on the upper floor, fermentation takes place on the middle level, and maturation occurs in the basement. The cellar was inaugurated with the CasaClima Wine seal in 2013, becoming the first certified winery in Lombardy and the third in Italy.
Community-based viticulture
The Network of Hanging Gardens was later created to formalise the relationship between Mamete Prevostini and the families who cultivate Valtellina’s terraced vineyards. The network shares expertise, resources and innovation, coordinates work on agronomic practices and supports professional development. Its wider purpose is to preserve the Alpine terraced landscape and make winegrowing a viable profession for future generations.
Terroir
Valtellina’s vines occupy south-facing Alpine slopes shaped into approximately 2,500 km of dry-stone-walled terraces. The art of dry-stone walling has UNESCO recognition as intangible cultural heritage. The terraces can be extremely steep, while the Inferno sector is particularly fragmented into small pieces of land attached to rocky slopes.
Nebbiolo is cultivated across an elevation band of approximately 300–700 metres above sea level, described as the sunniest and best-ventilated part of the slopes. Modest rainfall, hot summers and pronounced day-to-night temperature differences in autumn contribute to the structure, finesse and ageing potential associated with the estate’s Alpine Nebbiolo.
Documented sites face south. The soils are predominantly sandy and of glacial-morainic origin, sometimes with a component of silt. Earlier technical descriptions further identify abundant granite rock, little clay and, depending on the site, an absence or presence of limestone.
The Postalesio cellar and surrounding vineyards face the peaks of the Orobie Alps. The estate’s holdings and partner-grown parcels extend through Sondrio, Triasso, Montagna in Valtellina, Postalesio, Piuro, Berbenno, Castione Andevenno, Tirano and Teglio, spanning Valtellina and Valchiavenna.
Winemaking
Viticulture is conducted on steep Alpine terraces supported by dry-stone walls. Yields are low, and harvesting is carried out largely by hand. In the most difficult places, grapes are carried on workers’ shoulders along steps cut through the rock. Published vineyard specifications consistently identify Guyot as the training system and south-facing exposure as a defining feature.
Harvest practices include manual picking into boxes. For standard red-wine production, documented boxes hold approximately 15 kg, while bunches selected for drying may be placed in smaller 4–5 kg boxes. Selection begins in the vineyard; fruit intended for appassimento is chosen for loose, perfectly healthy bunches, followed by a further sorting-table selection after drying.
The Network of Hanging Gardens links the producer with local growers and their families. Participants share expertise, resources and innovation and cooperate on agronomic practices. The network is intended to preserve the labour-intensive terraced landscape, strengthen trust with growers, support professional development and create a future for younger people who want to become winegrowers.
Environmental measures extend beyond vineyard work. The Postalesio cellar was designed around efficient resource use, responsible material selection and a healthy working environment, while the historic property at Mese provides an electric-vehicle charging point beneath centuries-old chestnut trees.
Cellar design
Production takes place in the 3,000 m² CasaClima Wine cellar at Postalesio. The building is arranged over three levels to support vertical movement through the process: the upper floor contains the ventilated fruttaio used for appassimento, fermentation takes place on the middle floor, and maturation occurs in the basement. The highly insulated, low-energy environment was designed to minimise contamination and maintain stable conditions with very limited heating or cooling demand.
Reception and fermentation
Red-wine production examples begin with gentle destemming and light pressing before transfer to stainless-steel tanks for alcoholic fermentation and skin maceration. Sorting tables are used for rigorously selected fruit, especially after appassimento. Whole-bunch pressing is used for documented white-wine production, followed by fermentation and maturation in stainless steel.
Production methods vary according to the intended style. Fresh young reds and rosé can mature in stainless steel, while crus and more structured reds move from fermentation to oak barrels or casks of different capacities and then receive further bottle refinement. In documented red-wine protocols, malolactic fermentation follows pressing and may take place in wood.
Appassimento and maturation
Selected Nebbiolo bunches for Sforzato are dried naturally in the ventilated upper-floor fruttaio. Published examples describe drying periods from approximately two months to 100 days, with air circulation gradually concentrating the grapes before destemming, pressing and fermentation. These wines mature in oak and are subsequently refined in bottle.
The original crotto at Mese now serves as a family reserve cellar. Its natural airflow maintains the humidity and temperature of the rock cavity, and selected vintages are kept there as part of the family’s historical archive.
Philosophy
Mamete Prevostini’s philosophy centres on wines that communicate clearly with people, remain refined and elegant, and give voice to their place of origin. Valtellina’s soil, climate, sunlight and people are treated as inseparable elements in producing wines that can be complex without becoming difficult to understand.
The production objective is described as the cleanest possible approach to viticulture and winemaking. Technology is accepted when it protects grapes, workers and the environment, reduces contamination and allows the raw material to continue its journey in the most natural way possible.
Sustainability is treated as a human and community commitment rather than only a building standard. The Network of Hanging Gardens rests on long-term trust with winegrowers and their families, shared technical development, respect for each participant’s individuality and the preservation of the terraced Alpine landscape. It also seeks to make the profession credible and attractive to future generations.
Family memory remains integral to this outlook. The restored historic cellar, the Crotasc restaurant, the natural crotto and the reserve of older vintages connect present-day production with the grandparents’ farming, food and hospitality and with the work continued by Mamete’s father.