Unfiltered All the Way Around
Sheila Donohue, Founder of Vero, recounts her first encounter with Eros Zanon: “At Christmas 2017, I was at a dinner with friends in Bologna, Italy and someone brought a bottle of sparkling wine called Boschera which I surprised and delighted me, so I wound up googling to find out more about the wine and the producer. There was very little information available at the time but fortunately I got Eros on the phone. He explained that Boschera is a rare grape from his winery’s area in Veneto. I asked if he was interested in exporting his wines to the US and he said no. In fact, if you would like to buy any I would need come up to his winery.”
Fast forward to 4 years later: Sheila calls Eros again. This time he’s ready to get his wines into the US market! As we announced in the spring, we imported several Italian sparking wines that were never in the US before. This includes Eros’ Pet Nat natural wines, including his Boschera, whose grape never hit US shores until this year! Let’s get to know Eros and his wines in this article.
America’s Embrace of Sparkling Wine as An Everyday Go-to
Sheila Donohue remembers when she first moved to Italy in 2001, her Italian American friend mentioning Prosecco to her and the Italians’ tradition of having an aperitivo in the early evening with this low alcohol Italian sparkler. Little did she know, Prosecco was about to invade America, with exports growing by over 30 times in 20 years, not including a tremendous 40% increase in 2021 alone. Thanks to Prosecco’s growth Americans are now used to having sparkling wine for every day occasions.
According to this article, Italy is the top producing country of sparkling wines, with Italian sparkling wines making 27% of the world production. This is largely due to Prosecco’s success. But yet, there are many more other types of sparkling wines made in Italy. Combining the fascination with Prosecco, new and interesting varieties like Boschera and natural wines led Sheila and Vero towards getting to know Eros Zanon and his natural, Pet Nat style, sparkling wines.
Meet Eros Zanon
Our first time meeting Eros Zanon in his vineyard in ‘Prosecco storico’, Valdobbiadene winemaking area.
Our followers will know that we did a deep dive of Valdobbiadene last year when we got to know the Sanzovo brothers who have a 3 generation winery on Col del Balt hill in Valdobbiadene making delcious, crisp Proseccos.
If you go north east from Col del Balt estate winery you get to what Eros Zanon calls ‘Prosecco storico’, or "‘old Prosecco.’ It is slightly higher in altitude, at 1100 feet, with steeper slopes and is where the Prosecco tradition was born.
Eros Zanon’s glera vineyards are perched on the top of a hill, overlooking the greater area of prosecco-land. But his vineyards are different: once upon a time cows roamed freely through the vines, and their ‘left overs’ are still giving a natural bounty to the soil today. The old vines grow in wild and beautiful patterns, sometimes creating natural arches and shade as they reach up to the sun.
And then there is the man himself: tall and bearded with kind eyes, one wants to talk with Eros, and when he begins to explain his philosophies and tenderly show budding grapes and move tendrils of his vines while walking through the vineyards, his passion and love for the land and vines comes through loud and clear.
In keeping with the tradition of ‘Prosecco storico,’ before Prosecco was made in the ‘modern’ charmat or tank style, Eros Zanon makes all his wines, made with different native grapes from the area as sparkling wines using this ancient method and with completely natural fermentation using native yeasts. And using the ancestral method, known in France as Pétillant-naturel or Pet Nat for short. Read more about the history of ancestral method of making sparkling wines HERE.
For this reason, we like to call Eros the Italian Pet Nat Master, with Pet Nat natural wines that in part follow traditions from the past yet take on a style of his own. Let’s listen to Eros as he explains his vision and philosophy in wine growing and winemaking.
Q&A with an Unfiltered Winemaker
What is it about the Valdobbiadene area that creates such spectacular sparkling wines in general?
The hills of the Valdobbiadene wine region, as seen from the high point of Eros Zanon’s vineyards.
Valdobbiadene is an area very well adapted for sparkling wine mainly thanks to average age of the vines which in general are fairly old. This gives the final product an overall higher quality and complexity.
As well, the Valdobbiadene hills are situated to have the optimal exposition to the sun with a climate that works well with sparkling wines.
How did you develop the passion to expand outside of the traditional prosecco that is so popular in your region to working with pet nat or ancestral method wines?
Crafting wines with a second fermentation in the bottle was a natural path for me, inherited from my father’s traditions. But above all, I believe this style allows my vineyards and grapes to express their truest expression.
I do not necessarily classify my wines as either ‘ancestral method’ or ‘pet nat’, but simply ‘naturally refermented in the bottle’. It is a tradition I have always followed regardless of what was popular or desired at the time: it is very simply the style of wine I believe in.
Winemaker Eros Zanon.
Do you know any history of pet nat wines in the area of Valdobbiadene?
Wines like this have always been present in the area; they were around well before most of our modern oenological innovations. There are various theories as to how they began, with the most likely truth is they came about thanks to happenstance and error.
There are stories about bottles that were accidentally forgotten, then opened months later that were unexpectedly sparkling. From these discoveries came analyses and research to discover how residual sugars left after the first fermentation after harvest can create bubbles and frizz. From here the ‘refermentation’ movement began, or wines that undergo two fermentations, like champagne method wines for example.
Walk us through your process, from the eyes of a winemaker. How is that pleasant sparkling ‘fizz’ created?
I believe in making my wine in a way that my vines and fruit can give all their flavors, aromas, and potential. This also translates into the vineyard, harvesting at the right moment according to what the season brings, in order to allow each bottling and vintage to tell the story of that year in complete honesty.
To do this, every vineyard is harvested and vinified separately, keeping each vineyard singular with its own merits. This way, in every year, we select the best of the best from each vineyard that create the grapes, and thus the juice and then wine, that will create the best wine to go in the bottle. I restart my second refermentation in the following spring using a natural method adding just a smidge of sugar to re-jumpstart the process.
I consider my refermented wines different that a traditional spumante, or sparkling wine in that the fermentation dynamic is very different, and this brings a series of changes to the final wines such as the size or persistence of the bubbles in the glass. Naturally refermented wines have a tendency to produce bubbles that are less invasive to the palate than those created by the charmat method used for traditional prosecco.
Winemaker Eros Zanon examines some glera grapes from one of his old vines.
The boschera grape has only a few hectares planted in the region, tell us in your words about your passion for its cultivation and growth.
Boschera, for me, was a fantastic discovery. I had no idea that it was even found so close to my home, in fact, just a few kilometers. When I was approached and asked to try and vinify a wine using it, I immediately knew that it had an important story to tell and much to offer in the bottle. This is how the adventure started, and with time to experiment and discover what the grape liked and how it behaved in the winery, I have been able to craft a wine that is unique and expressive, and, thanks to its nice acidity, can age well.
Your old vineyards have a beautiful and wild feeling to them, tell us about your vineyards and why it is important to you to maintain them in this way.
I think my vines are the most important part of my business, so therefore my objective is to keep them in the best condition possible. To do this, one must respect the vine and not overstress it. Every single vine has a different need and our job is to search out and respect that need.
My vineyards are found in the northern most part of the UNESCO World Heritage area, where the soil is a limestone silt. We have great diurnal fluctuations that give my wines nice aromas and a fine wine.
Your logo of a circle and dot have important symbolism, in your words can you please tell us more about what it represents to you?
My logo (a circle with a dot in the center) is tied to an ancient symbology about the evolution of our world and the peoples in it. The center dot represents the point from which all things have their origin, and the circle is what brought it about. It is a symbol found in many ancient populations, and always has the same meaning. I decided that I wanted to have this represent my winery in the sense that the center dot is my vision and winemaking philosophy, and the larger circle is the industry as a whole. It helps remind me to keep my bearings, and for my wines to remain always like that little dot in a sea of proseccos.
Do you have any other thoughts that you want to share with the people who taste your wines?
I want to thank anyone and everyone who tastes my wines; I sincerely hope I am able to give them an important moment and that they can taste my passion that goes into every drop and every sip of my wines. Thank You!
Zanon’s Prosecco col fondo and boschera col fondo are great to enjoy anytime and anywhere, even poolside!
The Sparkling Gems of Eros Zanon
We discussed the two italian sparkling wines of Zanon, in an earlier article when these two wines arrived in our warehouses. This was the first time either wine had ever been imported into the US, and the first time the boschera grape was ever in the US… quite a list of first times! You can read the full article HERE, but after hearing directly from the winemaker, let’s review the highlights of these two interesting natural wines.
Prosecco Vintage Col Fondo Pet Nat | Natural Sparkling Wine
This Prosecco Pet Nat is made with native yeast fermentation, the higher elevation vineyard with calcareous soil is from an area which in ancient times was under the sea. Refermented and bottled on the lees, it is a dry, fruity and saline sparkling wine with a welcoming acidity that opens to bright citrus notes. Great to sip with aperitivos, happy hours, and enjoy with friends. We have even had a client say it was great to enjoy on a movie night with popcorn too!
Boschera | Skin Contact Pet Nat | Natural Sparkling Wine
A ‘pet’ project of Eros, Boschera has a super small production with only about 20 acres of vineyards in the world. The boschera grape transforms under Eros’ touch, as he recognizes the complexity and structure of the grape, which is more significant compared to glera. Eros decides to keep the boschera aging on its lees for at least 3 years. As well, never being disgorged, the wine in the bottle continues to evolve, like a champagne method wine. This results in a natural sparkling wine with the complexity of a champagne.
There is no better time than the present to try these unique refermented and unfiltered natural wines from Eros Zanon. Enjoy a light happy hour or pleasant sipper with the Prosecco Col Fondo that is easy to sip, or try the rare grape boschera in all of its complexity, only grown on a few acres in the world, from the man that helped bring it back from the brink. Order your wines today.
Taste Eros’s Unfiltered Pet Nat Wines
