Villa La Ripa

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The first step before harvesting: the thinning out of the grapes and leaf removal of our Syrah vines

At Villa La Ripa at the end of July, we conducted the thinning of Syrah vines.The thinning out consists in the elimination of some bunches that will not be used for the vinification. We have eliminated the less mature bunches or the ones that have defects to leave only the best grapes on the plant, which will absorb more nutrients and ripen more quickly. Here is an image below that shows you our vines before and after the thinning-out process.Another important intervention that we carried out at the end of August is the leaf removal. But why do we do it? What are the benefits? Is it important for the quality of the wine? The main advantages are the achievement of a better aeration, and therefore a lower incidence of fungalattacks, as well as theachievement of a better exposure to the sunlight.In this way, the bunches, no longer covered by the leaves, finish the maturation and we will have an activation of the genes, which are linked to the synthesis of theanthocyanins. These are important molecules (polyphenols), which are contained in the grape skins, that regulate the color, structure, and aromas of the grapes and wines.Here are some photos, which were taken at Villa La Ripa before and after the defoliation. Notice the difference. At this point, we are also ready to harvest our Syrah vines. We only wait for the chemical and organoleptic analysis to show us the perfect degree of ripenessof the grapes. We almost there. We keep you updated!Claudia Luzzi

11/10/2018

At Villa La Ripa we are harvesting Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah and Sangiovese

Here we are!!! At Villa La Ripa we started to harvest last week. As every year we havedone the chemical and organoleptic analysis of the grapes. Our winemaker Alessio Bandinelli is not only satisfied with the result of chemical analysis but goes directly into thevineyard and observes the grapes on site: he tastes the skins, the juice and follows and analyzes, in particular, the tannins to understand when it is the right time to harvest. Only when the results of the chemical and organoleptic analyzes correspond we proceed and harvest the small vineyard parcel. Villa La Ripa, being a small family-owned company, manages to harvest parceled vines, in this way only the perfectly ripe grapes are picked. This allows us to obtain a high level of quality in our wines; and that is indeed our gold standard: to produce high-quality wines. Here are some photos, which show a few moments of the harvest. In this way, we try tomake you participate in this wonderful experience.I also propose to watch a short video where you can directly observe the process of the separation of the berries from the stalks that takes place in a specific machine called:destemming machine And ... to a good harvestfor us!”Claudia Luzzi

11/10/2018

Il nuovo sito di Villa La Ripa è online

Villa La Ripa è online con una nuova veste grafica.  Scopri la storia di questa Villa nel cuore della Toscana.

12/07/2018
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