CHARDONNAY "LAFOA" 2023 COLTERENTIO

THE STORY

It was the 1980s when Luis Raifer, winemaker and at the time director and president of Cantina Colterenzio, returned to Alto Adige after a study trip to California. His mind was boiling with ideas. He sensed that Alto Adige wines would have enormous potential and began to plant Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in his Lafóa vineyard, to which he later added Sauvignon Blanc. The yields were low, but the quality of the grapes and wines was very high and marked a turning point in Alto Adige viticulture. From this pilot vineyard the “Lafóa thought” began to emerge, which introduced new quality standards, maintained to this day by the members and collaborators of Cantina Colterenzio.

The first Cabernet Sauvignon Lafóa came out with the 1989 vintage but with a different label; Instead, the first Sauvignon blanc Lafóa came out with the 1993 vintage. In recent years, two other wines have been added to enrich this prestigious line: Chardonnay Lafóa and Gewürztraminer Lafóa. In a short time, they too have achieved very high quality.

THE LABEL

All four Lafóa wines wear a very particular label. Often, when we present these wines at fairs or events, we are asked the following question: “What does the drawing on the label mean? The style reminds me so much of Gustav Klimt”. We finally reveal to you the “secret” of this splendid label.

It was designed by the Guardenti studio in Lucca, and its debut came with the 1993 vintage. The label features a bronze sculpture in the center, created by the painter and sculptor Guido Anton Muss (1941-2003 – Val Gardena. Professor at the art schools in Venice and Florence, numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad) and covers the column located at the entrance of Luis Raifer's farmhouse, this work is intended to represent the protective "spirit" of the estate. In the label, the humus and the earthly forces envelop the column in the center that opens to the sunlight.

The background of the label is inspired by Art Nouveau, an artistic movement that spread between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, and is intended to represent the set of natural forces that determine the growth of the plant element. Gustav Klimt also lived and worked in this period. Therefore, the observation that the label recalls Klimt is perfectly correct.