History
The founding Nunzio Ghiraldi
The family’s association with Lugana began in the early 1950s, when Nunzio Ghiraldi, an engineer from Cremona, acquired Podere Sant’Onorata in the countryside of Lugana di Sirmione. Family ownership dates from 1953, the year used to mark the beginning of the Ghiraldis’ activity as winegrowers in Lugana.
The estate stood only a short distance from Lake Garda, amid clay soils influenced by temperate breezes from the mountains surrounding the lake. Although the clay became soft and muddy in winter and hard in summer, Nunzio considered it suitable for the Trebbiano di Lugana vines he intended to grow and proceeded with the planting.
Podere Sant’Onorata’s eighteenth-century farmhouse became the Ghiraldi family home. It was progressively adapted to serve the production of Lugana while retaining its historic architectural character.
The namesake grandson
The founder’s grandson, also named Nunzio Ghiraldi, initially followed the professional path of his father by completing legal studies. He subsequently chose vineyard work and life in the countryside, making the family’s land and vines his principal occupation.
Expansion and the winery
In 1995, the family added a second estate in the immediate vicinity of Podere Sant’Onorata. The acquisition expanded its Lugana holdings by 15 ha, all planted with Turbiana, and provided the location for the winemaking cellar.
A seventeenth-century farmhouse on the second property was converted into the winery with particular attention to preserving the building’s structure and architectural identity. Equipment was designed to fit the historic space, including custom insulated, temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Computer-controlled pneumatic air-bag presses were installed for soft, gentle pressing, bringing contemporary production technology into the historic building.
Terroir
The Lugana vineyards lie in the countryside of Lugana di Sirmione, with Podere Sant’Onorata situated in the Lugana cru of Sirmione. Lake Garda is only a short distance from the estate, while temperate breezes arrive from the nearby mountains that surround the lake.
Clay is the defining element of the vineyards. The soils contain more than 50% clay and are stratified, predominantly calcareous, rich in mineral salts, glacial in origin and sedimentary in nature. They were formed during the Würm glaciation, when the retreat of the immense glacier created Lake Garda and the clay basin of Lugana.
This is physically demanding ground: the clay becomes soft and muddy during winter, then hard and resistant in summer. Its high clay content is associated with substantial concentration in the estate’s Turbiana grapes.
Winemaking
The oldest vineyards retain a traditional planting density of approximately 3,000 vines per hectare and rare old Turbiana clones. These vines are trained to double Guyot and carry around 18 buds per plant.
Newer plantings have a higher density of 4,500 vines per hectare. They are trained to single Guyot and carry approximately 10 buds per plant. The higher density and lower number of buds are intended to reduce the quantity of grapes borne by each vine and improve fruit quality.
Average yield is approximately 10 tonnes per hectare. In vineyards more than 60 years old, it falls to around 8 tonnes per hectare.
The estates follow integrated viticulture under Misura 10 as applied in Lombardy. Fertility is maintained exclusively with cattle and horse manure from the family’s livestock farms. Herbicides are not used; weed control is mechanical.
The winemaking cellar occupies a seventeenth-century farmhouse on the 15-ha estate acquired in 1995. Its conversion preserved the building’s architectural structure and historic character while accommodating modern production equipment.
The cellar equipment was custom-designed for the space. Insulated, temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks provide controlled fermentation and maturation capacity. Computer-controlled pneumatic air-bag presses apply soft, gentle pressure intended to preserve the integrity of the grapes.
The broader production approach combines selective vineyard work and controlled cellar technology with the preservation of the estate’s historic buildings. Stainless steel is central to vinification, and the estate also employs bottle maturation for its longer-aged Lugana selection.
Philosophy
The family’s guiding idea is rooted in the genius loci of Lugana: working its own land and interpreting the relationship between the local clay and Turbiana. Vineyard life is presented not merely as a profession but as a deliberate choice to live in the countryside and remain closely involved with the land.
The production objective is a Lugana that is modern in style while retaining an older essence. Recognizability is a central ambition, supported by the belief that soil and grape variety form an inseparable pair.
Tradition is expressed through old Turbiana clones, historic vineyard layouts and the preservation of centuries-old farmhouses. Technology is incorporated through purpose-built tanks, temperature control and computer-controlled pressing without erasing the architectural identity of the estate.