Over the next few newsletters, we will be sending you the 2009 harvest updates for all of our wineries throughout the world. We will be beginning in the north of Italy where the feedback for 2009 has been quite positive!

2009 Harvest Report Part One: Piedmont, Friuli, Veneto

Ca’ Del Baio, Barbaresco, Piedmont
The 2009 vintage is finished, and the results are very excellent. This year, because of the hot weather in summer, we began the harvest 15 days earlier!
The characteristic of the 2009 is great balance, high alcohol, and nice acidity. All the wines have a great color and high quantity of polyphenols.
We will be expecting a very nice 2009 Barbaresco, very close to the 2007 vintage.
Giulio Grasso, Winemaker /Owner

Boroli, Barolo, Piedmont
The 2009 vintage was a one, very similar to the 2001 and 2004 and 2006 especially for Nebbiolo and Barbera. After a warm summer we had 5-6 raining days and then for a month warm during the days and fresh and cool during the night. This results in a balanced maturation of the grape, in fact when there is a big different between night and day the grapes mature better.
We commenced harvest for Dolcetto in the first week of September just before the rainy days. For Dolcetto this is not one of the best years (88 points) but for Nebbiolo (Barolo) and Barbera it is great - not just for the quality of the grapes but also for the quantity!!! We picked Barbera at the end of September and Nebbiolo during the second week of October. In general the harvest was 1 week earlier. A great vintage for the Moscato and Chardonnay displaying a perfect balance between sugar and acidity.
Achille Boroli, Owner

Giovanni Viberti, Barolo, Piedmont
The harvest just finished and considering all of the weather variables, we will have another great vintage!
Last winter was particularly cold with an average January temperature between -1 ° & +1°C.
Heavy snow fell on the 1st week of January followed by a particularly cold period. The rainy start to the spring, forced us to work on restoring the vineyards and their access paths which had receded due to the snowy winter. Thankfully, April & May saw mainly mild temperatures and a more stable period.

The summer was great with average temperatures often over the 30°C with only one rainfall to freshen the grapes at the end of July. In August the heat increased again, and after a brief interruption the summer conditions continued into September, where we picked the early ripeners Dolcetto & Chardonnay. For late ripening varieties such as Barbera & Nebbiolo the harvest was completed not as early as we expected. Grape quality is excellent for all grapes with high sugar concentration & balanced acidity. Wine seems to be really excellent but is still early to make a statement!
Claudio Viberti, Winemaker

Ronco Del Gelso, Friuli Venezia Giulia
2009 was a very good vintage, very similar to 2006 and 2007- a ‘typical’ Friulan vintage. The Friuli region is quite a dry region and this vintage some rains fell in the spring and again in the fall but had no negative effect on the quality of the grapes, in fact the grapes were perfect for Friulano, Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot, there was neither an under crop nor an over crop and the acidity was ideal. The Pinot Grigio was more complicated, and we had to work harder with it, however in the end I am confident that the wine will be exceptional!
Giorgio Badin, Owner/Winemaker

Forchir, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
The vine put out its shoots earlier than normal, the first ten days in April, due to temperatures that were as much as 2.5°C higher than the seasonal average.
Therefore, the blossoms also came early. In the summer, there was a good alternation of warm spells and rain, and in mid-August our early varieties has reached a good degree of ripeness.
We started to harvest our Pinot Grigio on August 20, followed by Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Tocai..., always picking the grapes at night to maintain the aroma of the fruit in the winery.
The end of September was exceptional for the red varieties, with a marked range of day-night temperatures and no precipitation. I think that we will have Merlot, Cabernet and Refosco at the best levels of structure, colour and aroma. The only negative note is that at the end of the harvest we totaled 9% less than the year before.
Gianfranco Bianchini, Winemaker




Zymé, Valpolicella, Veneto, Italy
The 2009 harvest has been quite in line with the previous harvests, I mean that as in recent years, we anticipated the beginning and we have had very, very nice weather both during harvest and after. Up until now, we can say we have very pleasant weather that helps our grapes drying!
In general, we obtained less quantity of grapes, 20/30% less compared to last year, but the healthy state of grapes was fantastic, both for young wines and even for wines destined to maturation in wood. Even for white wines this harvest has been a very good vintage!
Regarding the analytical details on our production, we note a very good balance between acidity and dry extract allowing the grapes to obtain very fresh, balanced, sapid and fruity wines, with hints of spices during maturation.
We tried to keep all the grapes produced as we think they will give us a very good product, with a strong longevity and useful in the next 10 years for our cuvees.

For sure we will be able to produce all our selection, Vigneti, Amarone, Oseleta, Kairos and Harlequin (for reds), and even From Black to White and a new Sparkling Metodo Classico (for whites).

We are happy to inform you that because of the great quality of grapes achieved, we have decided to meet customer’s requests by producing a new entry level wine; Valpolicella Doc 2009, this will be Zymé’s answer to many requests to have a good quality product that can be placed on the basic market, so that even we can try to meet the economic world situation!
Celestino Gaspari, Winemaker/ Owner

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