Silvano Follador Prosecco Offer

“Silvano Follador is in my opinion the single best producer of Prosecco today.” 
— IAN D'AGATA, VINOUS.COM

Those who know me best understand that I have a deep passion for sparkling wine. And while few regions compare in quality to Champagne, I have been more and more impressed recently with the quality of Prosecco being produced in Northern Italy.

Prosecco can be made in two Italian regions, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. This is an enormous swath of land, subdivided amongst nine provinces and 556 communes. With so much ground to cover and so many different styles of production, the wine has long been misunderstood.

Most people will tell you that Prosecco is a cheap sweet sparkling wine that bares little-to-no complexity. I would say that may be true in some cases, but indeed, there are some lovely Prosecco wines to be enjoyed.

One of the most impressive Prosecco wines that I have tasted recently has come from the micro-producer Silvano Follador. In 2016, award-winning wine writer Ian D'Agata wrote...

“Silvano Follador is in my opinion the single best producer of Prosecco today. Follador is a true master of the Glera grape variety and the 20,000 bottles (under 2,000 cases) of wine he makes a year (he owns 3.5 hectares - 8.6 acres), made in a relatively drier style than most of his colleagues, are much sought after by wine lovers and collectors.”

In 1999, Silvano and Alberta Follador inherited a small amount of land in the prestigious Valdobbiadene commune of Prosecco. After finishing school, the two decided to carry on their late grandfather’s work at his winery, but they had no real winemaking experience. They brought on a consultant who ended up producing wines that lacked true identity and a genuine expression of terroir.

In 2007, however, the urge to acquire a more intimate and personal relationship with the wines and their land became imperative and so they stopped working with external consultancy. At the same time, the transition to organic and biodynamic farming has become a top priority, and today their land is farmed without the use of chemical herbicides or fertilizers.

Most Prosecco is released as non-vintage; however, the wine may be released with a vintage date if the wine is comprised from a minimum 85% of the stated year’s harvest.

The hilly zone between the communes of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene represents the historical heartland of Prosecco production; in accordance with the area’s new recognition as DOCG (a classification of the highest quality in Italian wine production) the producers’ consorzio ambitiously aims for the development of crus in the region.

The most noteworthy cru is Cartizze, comprising a mere 107 of the DOCG’s approximate 8,000 hectares. Wines from the subzone are labeled Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze, are fully sparkling in style, and are generally “dry,” with 17-35 grams per liter of residual sugar.

Silvano Follador produces one wine -- Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Brut. This is a vintage wine that contains all of the Cartizze fruit that the Follador’s farm.

“Our decision to produce just one wine was more improvised than planned. We drew on our experience of our 2014 vintage when, due to very limited production, the precarious health of the vines and problematic ripening, we decided not to bottle the Cartizze separately but to combine it with the Prosecco in a single cuvée so they could help each other in this joint effort in such a complicated vintage. We were very satisfied with the result. So, we decided to continue in this manner.”

The wine is an ‘extra brut’ with no residual sugar, an intentional decision made to enhance the original flavor and achieve a natural balance between acidity, sapidity and structure.

After slow fermentation of the must, the wine ages on the fine lees in a cement tank for six months. In spring the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in a pressure tank (Autoclave) after which, within the space of one or two months, the yeasts are removed by filtering. Although this passage may seem invasive and negative for the integrity and genuineness of the wine, it is instead decisive in enhancing its fresh clear fragrances and its dynamic yet delicate flavor.

It is my absolute pleasure to offer Mayacama members access to this extremely small production wine – Silvano Follador Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Brut 2021.

This will be the perfect wine to enjoy by the pool, or to sip on as an aperitif while entertaining friends and family on a beautiful warm summer afternoon.

As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions regarding this wine.

Thank you for your continued support.

Cheers!

Carey Vanderborg, Wine Director