Conti Sertoli Salis

The family of Conti Sertoli Salis comes from the region of Valtellina in Lombardy. In the alpine region to the north of Milan above Lake Como, Valtellina is a long and wide valley that runs from east to west, following the course of the Adda River. Between 1600 and 1700, the Salis family owned almost a third of the land of the Valtellina, and since 1665, they have been providing wines produced in their cellars to supply both Swiss and Valtellinese nobility.

Some years ago, Francesco Sertoli Salis decided to give new life to an ancient tradition and produce and sell the wines that were made in the cellars of the Palazzo of Tirano. The family restored a magnificent palazzo, the largest in all of Valtellina. They restored the historic cellar and used old enological techniques which had been forgotten, but which are thoroughly documented in a text dating back to 1834 entitled Introduction to Valtellinese Flora by Giuseppe Filippo Massara.

In this book, it is said that the maceration of bunches of whole grapes precedes the alcoholic fermentation. Thus, in the cellars of the Palazzo Salis in Tirano, they vinify the grapes to produce wines typical of Valtellina. These cellars are the site of the last stage of a demanding wine-making process.

Growing grapes is particularly challenging in this steep country, ringed with imposing mountains. Anybody who visits will be impressed by these majestic peaks, which rise to an elevation of 4,054 mt/ 13,300 feet and which guard the valley of Conti Sertoli Salis on three sides--the North, the East, and the South and shield the vines from the cold winds that come from the North and the East. Here you can admire the wonderful terraced vineyards, perhaps unique in the world, which climb up the north side of the Valtellina, and which therefore have an ideal southern exposure.

An unusual feature of this area is the layout of the rows: on each terraced plot, the vines are planted in the direction of maximum incline. This allows the plants to benefit from the best possible conditions, receiving the most light and warmth from the sun. Vines can grow at a height of 700 to 790 mt/ 2,300 to 2,600 ft above sea level, although the ideal height ranges between 350 - 450 mt/1,150 - 1,480 feet. The slopes here are so steep that sometimes the grapes must be transported down into the valley in baskets on people’s backs, or by aerial cableways. Given such conditions, the entire cultivation of these vines must be done by hand which is very expensive. In such rocky soil, the vines literally have to sink their roots into the rock itself, and yield per acre is extremely low. In the case of the vineyards of Baruffini, production is approximately 1,420 lt/ 375 gal per acre.