Emilia Pennac
is the name of the small farm run by the Giani family and headed by daughter Silvia. The farm is located in the southern parts of Lombardy, just south of Pavia and close to the border with Piedmont. It all began in 1972 when Silvia's father planted half a hectare of the Bonarda grape with the aim of growing wine for family use. It was here Silvia learned the basics of how to work with biodiversity, biodynamic methods and carefully monitoring the vines in order to make great wine. Since the beginning, the family has tried to make wine with as little intervention as possible, without pesticides or chemical additives.The interest in wine grew into a passion over time, in 2010 Silvia took the step to start growing wine on a slightly larger scale. She managed to buy some plots of vineyards near the first vineyard and today she cultivates about 12 hectares, mostly slopes at 150-250 meters altitude. Cortese, Riesling Renano, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Chardonnay, Croatina, Barbera, Pinot Noir and Bonarda are grown here. The family's cellar is too small to handle the entire harvest, so they select the best grapes and sell the rest to the local cooperative. Today they make wine from about half of the grapes they grow but hope to invest in a larger cellar within a few years.
Biodiversity has been important for Silvia and her family. If you look at their vineyards, you can see lots of flowers and high grass between the vines. They are there to promote the life of insects and plants above and below ground and contribute to a rich ecosystem where the soil maintains its fertility and increases its resistance to both drought, heavy rains and erosion.
The house's wines are made using the indigenous yeast, spontaneous fermentation without temperature control, with low sulfur contents and without filtration. Silva has maintained this tradition and sometimes, if the year has been favorable, has made wines completely without the addition of sulfur. We really like the way they produce their wines and how they care about nature. Plus, they're a happy bunch and our last visit to the farm ended in a snowball fight, you get the idea.
