Costadilà

When Ernesto Cattel's Costadilà began selling their wines in the mid-noughties, few would have questioned the underpinnings of Veneto's sensational success as a winemaking region. Prosecco, the region's crowning jewel, held a monopoly in the market for cheap sparkling wines, and it was produced by the tank-load to satiate global demand. But for Ernesto and a handful of others in the region, the integrity of this old regional tradition had been sacrificed at the altar of its hegemonic rise. The perceived success would also inflict irreversible devastation of the historic Trevigiana hills, all but erasing the centuries-old farming practices and winemaking traditions of the people who lived there. Volume became the sole measure of success in grape growing. Hillside vineyards were bulldozed, terraced, and replanted, and the fertile plains below were planted with a single variety - the Prosecco grape, today known as Glera. On the hills, the old vines that were grown in a polycultural tradition fell into abandonment, and the new monoculture became reliant on significant chemical assistance, often sprayed from overhead by helicopters. The process became so extractive that by 2019, researchers at the University of Padova estimated that around 3.3 kilos of soil eroded from the hills for every bottle of Prosecco produced. Aghast by the rapid transformation of his home, Ernesto spent the early years of the 2000s combing these old hills, identifying parcels of vines and their owners, assembling a constellation of sites that would be revived through his nascent project, with the aim to preserve the Prosecco of old, col fondo Prosecco. Showcasing the breadth of expression the region has to offer, working with varieties like Bianchetta Trevigiana and Verdiso alongside the famous Prosecco grape, Ernesto succeeded in preserving the peasant soul of Prosecco through his work. After his death in 2018, the project was kept alive by two of Ernesto's protégés, Martina Celi, who was Ernesto's student in the vines and cellar, and Alex della Vecchia, who had been making wine at the Costadilà cellar for years, upholding his vision until the estate passed to Ernesto's son, Arno, who now runs the estate.