Cement tanks are ideal vessels for the production of natural wines. Alfonso Soranzo (below) understands this and puts the knowledge to great use at his Colli Euganei estate Monteforche.

His farm, all of six hectares, is planted to the classic varieties of this prolific but unheralded zone southwest of Padova in the Veneto. He uses the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio as well as the great Soave variety Garganega and Cabernet Franc, the Loire Valley star that has long been planted in Northeastern Italy. To these three stalwarts he adds a bit of Malvasia Istriana and Merlot. What sets Alfonso apart from his neighbors however, is his devotion to making wine using techniques that allow nature to guide the process from bud break to bottle.

This is where cement comes in. While many of Italy’s largest wine producers still depend on giant cement vats to handle large volume, an increasing number of quality-minded producers including a growing roster of “natural” winemakers have discovered that cement has many properties that are ideal for making wines of great character and purity. When cement is lined with glass or resin it is clean, neutral aromatically, temperature-stable and able to provide the kind of slow oxygenation so valued in wood barrels. Cement is also relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain, allowing producers of limited means to keep prices in a range that won’t limit exposure to fans of progressive winemaking.

Alfonso uses cement tanks to ferment all and age all but one of his wines. His whites all see fermentation with skins present and extended lees contact during aging.

Monteforche Vigneto Carantina 2009
$24

Monteforche Pinot Grigio 2009
$21

Monteforche Cassiara 2009
$21

Monteforche Cabernet Franc 2008
$24

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