Il Mostro Terre di Chieti Frizzante Ragana Bianco

ABOUT ‘Il Mostro’ was conceived as a new experimental project from Poggio Anima. This is a single-vineyard wine from the Monteodorisio Vineyard in Chieti, Abruzzo. The Marchesani family has been farming this since the mid-1960s and following the marriage of Sebastano Jasci to Lucia Marchesani, the newly married couple embarked on a new frontier of higher quality farming. Sebastiano pushed for organic farming and became one of the first certified organic vineyards in Italy in 1978. Today their son Nicola has taken over the business side of things, and his wife Federica manages the winemaking. The names of the wines are derived from children’s bedtime warnings throughout Europe. ‘Ragana’ is an ancient pre-Indo-European spirit and a powerful prophetess who reveals the future. She is best known in the Baltic states and is thought to rule over fertility and regeneration and is the guardian of nature’s cycles: creation, growth, decline and destruction. In many ways she is the spirit of balance, which this wine embodies. Note the 2024 vintage no longer carries the certified organic label due to the timing of new laws passed in the US, but nothing has changed on the viticultural or winemaking side. The farming practices remain certified organic even though the wine itself is no longer certified organic for this vintage. The Pecorino and Riesling were hand-harvested from two blocks that sit in an amphitheater that wraps around from southeast to northeast and ascending from 750 to 850 feet in elevation. The majority of the grapes were cooled down at the winery and fermented at a cool 60oF with the remaining grapes being whole-bunch pressed to tank and chilled very cold to prevent fermentation and held in tank. Primary fermentation occurred naturally in a sealed stainless-steel tank and when the wine reached 15 g/L residual sugar the tank was cooled down in order to hold the ferment at 10 g/L. The wine was bottled and topped with more of the unfermented juice from tank and the bottles were crown sealed. Secondary fermentation occurred over the next 2-3 months and the wine was disgorged and topped up along with a small addition of sulfur helping to preserve freshness and ward off unwanted microbes. DATA Grapes: 85% Pecorino - 15% Riesling Vineyard: Jasci & Marchesani's Monteodorisio Vineyard Vine Age: Average: 20-years-old Soil Type: Sandy clay loam with limestone deposits Viticulture: Certified organic Fermentation: Native – stainless steel Skin Contact: None Aging: 15 days in stainless-steel Alcohol: 12.5% Residual Sugar: Less than 1 g/L pH: 3.5 Total Acidity: 5.9 g/L Total SO2: 60 ppm Total Production: 2,000 cases UPC: 8032611771606 TASTING NOTE Lightly cloudy, pale straw yellow in color. Bright aromas of lime, lemon, and ripe pear, followed by a palate that bursts with fresh stone fruit & citrus flavors. The finish is crisp and refreshing, with a hint of sourdough bread.