Between Earth and History
Where the wind caresses the rows and the sky is reflected in the fields, there is a corner of Lugana that still knows how to whisper true stories: Antico Gelso was born in Pozzolengo, a border town, suspended between hills and memories.
Here the land is alive, generous, full of character... it smells of ripe grapes, of olive trees in bloom. A small treasure chest where every flavor is a treasure to be discovered, every sip a step further into craftsmanship.
Antico Gelso is this: an embrace between past and present, between nature and hands that work with love, to create wines that speak of soul, territory and time.
Tra le curve dolci delle colline moreniche, dove la terra serba l’eco dei ghiacciai antichi, si apre un paesaggio che incanta: è la terra del Lugana, che guarda il Lago di Garda come uno specchio d’azzurro eterno.
The Garda,
land of Lugana
In Pozzolengo, where the vines sink into rich and mineral soils, the wine is born with the soul of the lake and the character of the hills. Here, every sip tells of light breezes, of light reflected on the water, of a nature that embraces and inspires.
The Morainic Hills
About Us
The farm began in the early twentieth century with the purchase of the farmhouse and surrounding land by our great-grandfather Antonio.
Resisting the two world wars, in the sixties grandfather Albano, realized his dream by starting the cultivation of the vine; given the great potential of the land, which he was then able to enhance with honesty in his bulk wines, thanks also to the help of my father Costantino.
The love for Ballino, the place where we live, has been passed down for generations, and in 2020 the company underwent a radical change by calling itself “Antico Gelso”; it is in fact thanks to the meeting between Emanuele and Daniela that we move from the production of bulk wines to the first bottle.
The company consists of 5 hectares of vineyards, mainly cultivated with Lugana and Merlot.
We produce approximately 10,000 bottles per year.
Our Wines
Philosophy
In the Vineyard
Our approach to the vineyard is sustainable, we use practices that respect the environment and man to create a genuine and high quality product.
This form of agriculture is called Integrated Pest Control, we limit the use and number of systemic treatments, we apply the technique of sexual confusion to avoid insecticides and we do not use chemical herbicides preferring the mechanical processing of the row. At veraison (the moment in which the bunches change color and prepare for ripening), we perform careful and reasoned thinning to obtain healthy and ripe grapes.
In the Cellar
The cellar is one of the smallest on Lake Garda, it was renovated by us in 2020, it has a vaulted ceiling, typical of seventeenth-century stone farmhouses, this allows for an excellent temperature in the cellar which benefits the refinement of the wines.
Despite the small premises (about 40 square meters) we are able to work with modern machinery that allows us to respect the fruit of the vineyard that we harvest manually.
The musts ferment naturally, allowing us to bring the authenticity of our territory into the bottle.
A long stay on the noble sediments enhances the aromas of the wines, we do not use products of animal origin in winemaking obtaining vegan products with very low sulphite content.
Our roots sink into the earth, like those of the mulberry tree: strong, genuine, unhurried.
Emanuele
Do you want to stay in touch
with Antico Gelso?
Join the Wine Club