Cavajè

Tasting Notes

Cavajè shows a light straw yellow colour with bright green reflexes.

Appealing and pleasant at the nose, showing the typical characteristics of Arneis, i.e. its floral and fruity hints.

Fine on the palate, with the elegance of the fine and persistent perlage.

Ideal as an aperitif and optimal ingredient for sparkling wine cocktails. Pleasant to conclude a meal.

Rabino Luigi - Cavajè Spumante Brut

Arneis is the most typical grape variety of Roero.

Its seems to have origin just in the Municipality of Canale, since the name Arneis derives from the alteration of the place name Renesio, Renexi, one of the most picturesque hills of this territory.

The name Arneis in our dialect also means a grouchy and naughty person.

The history of this variety is uncertain, but we know that already in 17th century the winemakers planted some stocks of this variety in the rows of Nebbiolo so that the birds could peck its juicy and sweet berries instead of the more valuable red grapes.

In 20th century, Arneis was vinified as a sweet wine. Our grandfather told us that during World War II our wine estate produced and filtered 40-45 ”brente” (equivalent to 50 litres each) of Arneis.

Later on, in the 60s some brave wine-makers thought that they could make the best of the potentiality of this variety creating another type of wine, so they started producing it as a dry wine, with the same method used for champagne, and, in a short time, they could obtain a top quality product.

Since 1979, our wine estate has been producing a Spumante from Arneis variety, obtained from selected grapes of the best vineyards.

In fact, the hills chosen for this production are those with the best exposure ensuring optimal ripening, colours of the grapes from green to golden tones, and intense aroma.

The hills are Bricco Novara, stretching around the buildings of our wine estate, Val Capun, Ca’ di Carli, and Bricco Renesio, that in 2015 was included in the zone belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage.

Thanks to its intense scent originated from the aromatic notes and its richness in body and good structure, Arneis is regarded as the King of the whites of Piedmont.

It differs from other whites thanks to its long life, in fact, it is ready to be put on the market already in the spring following the harvest but it can maintain its characteristics for some years after the bottling.

Basic Information

Product name: Cavajè Spumante Brut

Cépage: Arneis

Appellation:

Classification:

Color: white

Type: sparkling

Country/Region: Canale, CN, Piemonte

Alcool percentage: 12.5%

Sugar rate: 7 g

Number of bottles produced: 6,000

Winemaking

Method: after the crushing and destemming to extract the juice from the grapes, the fermentation in steel vats starts and proceeds slowly at the controlled temperature of 12-13 °C, to reduce the loss of the aromatic compounds to the minimum. During the winter, the wine is submitted to the batonnage, a technique consisting in stirring the noble lees on the bottom of the vats to enhance its aromas and structure. In February, the wine is poured into autoclaves for re-fermentation, where, thanks to very low temperatures, 10-11 °C, a very fine and persistent perlage forms without affecting the aromatic compounds. At the end of June, the fermentation is completed and the wine is bottles and left in the cellar to rest some months

Temperature: 12 °C temperature-controlled

Lenght: 20 days

Minimum aging in bottle: 2 / 3 months

Vineyard

% of Grape/Cépage: 100% Arneis

Soil: medium mixture

Exposure: southwest

Agricultural method: eco friendly

Year of plantation: 1997

Date of harvest: early September

Type of harvest: manual in boxes

Chemical Analysis

Dry extract [g/l]: 20

Total acidity [g/l of tartaric acid equivalent]: 5

Volatile acidity [g/l acetic acid equivalent]: 0.3

Total SO2[mg/l]: 70

Free SO2[mg/l]:

Packaging

Number of bottles per box: 6

Box size: length 24, width 16, height 30

Bottle

Empty bottle weight: 450 g

Aging potential: 1 year

Cork size: 22×44 mm

Cork material: turacciolo Normacorc, derived from sustainable, renewable sugarcane-based raw materials

Bottle type: champagnotta

Curiosities

Since 2014, we have been producing a brut sparkling wine obtained from Arneis grapes, a unique product of this sort.

In fact, it maintains the best features of the Arneis grapes: ductility, long life and strong aromas.

The grapes come from the Cavajé vineyard giving its name to the wine.

The ancient owner was a Knight (in our dialect Cavajè) and people still say “let’s go working in the vineyard of the Cavajé”.

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