Prosecco Superiore Wines with Bellenda and Villa Sandi

If you’ve been a follower of my blog you know that October is a month that I have much to celebrate.  From my birthday, to my 10 year wedding anniversary since I got married in Italy, to one of my favorite holidays.  All the more reason to celebrate.  With many Prosecco calling my name in my stash I wanted to highlight a couple wines from the Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine region featuring both Bellenda and Villa Sandi. 

The Wineries 

Bellenda 

The Bellenda winery has been run by the Cosmo family since 1986.  Originally founded by Sergio Cosmo, but run today by the brothers, Umberto, Domenico and Luigi.  Bellenda is located about 40 miles north of Venice in the village of Carpesica, a tiny village in Vittorio Veneto, within the Treviso province.  This family-owned winery produces Prosecco from the Conegliano Valdobbiadene wine region in a variety of sparkling wine styles on about 86 acres overlooking the Prosecco hillsides. 

They were the first winery in Conegliano Valdobbiadene to restore the use of the classic method that had been practiced until the 1930’s when it was forgotten.  What is the classic method?  It is when the secondary fermentation takes place within the bottle.  This way the bubbles are created within the bottles.  This differs from the typical method that is used in the land of Prosecco where the Martinotti method is used, also known as the tank method or charmat method.  For this method the refermentation takes place in pressurized tanks.     

Bellenda pays close to attention to sustainability in a number of ways and preserve their biodiversity with the surrounding woodlands.  The do not use any herbicides or pesticides.  They recover their vine prunings for energy production as well as the use of solar panels.  They also use recycled glass for their packaging materials as well as their wine bottles.   

Villa Sandi 

You may remember me mentioning Villa Sandi when I spoke about the owners of Borgo Conventi recently. The same owners of Villa Sandi, the Moretti Polegato family, purchased Borgo Conventi years back. In 1920 Mario Polegato, the grandfather of the current President Giancarlo, purchased vineyards and created the beginnings of Villa Sandi.  

After the Second World War Divo, Mario’s son, along with his wife Amalia dig into the family business and have two sons, Mario and Giancarlo, whom also get involved with Mario becoming an enologist and Giancarlo, focused on the financial side of the business. Unfortunately, they experience a sudden loss as Divo passes away leaving Amalia and the two sons to take over. They end up purchasing the current Villa Sandi estate in the end of the 70’s, which is a Palladian style building built in the early 1600’s. In the 80’s the three of them start getting worldwide recognition for Prosecco and developing themselves in the worldwide export market. 

Villa Sandi

During renovation of Villa Sandi a network of underground cellars were discovered that had been in existence since 1622. Giancarlo and Mario decide to use these cellars and produce wines using the classic method after a visit to Champagne. 

Today the winery is operated by the 4th generation including Giancarlo and his wife, Augusta, and their two sons, Diva and Leonardo. The generations continue on. Villa Sandi now has 5 estates in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions. They have vineyards in many areas of the Prosecco designations from the Asolo DOCG to Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG and in Cartizze DOCG, which is considered the cru of Prosecco.    

The Wines 

I received a number of Bellenda samples to try that I will continue to share on my social media and maybe in future articles, but I wanted to focus on their 2020 Bellenda “Sei Uno” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Rive di Carpesica Extra Brut.  Whew that was a mouthfull!  These grapes are grown in limestone-clay soils on ancient Piave glaciers that are rich in morainic deposits.  This wine spends several months sue lie and is disgorged after 12 months with an additional 6 months aging in the cellar.   

More to come on the other bottle soon

I recommend not using a flute when you drink sparkling wines so that you can get the aromatic expressions from the wine.  This wine was pale straw colored with an intense mousse upon pouring it into the glass.  Apples, peach and citrus were expressed in the aromas.  My first impression of this wine upon first taste was that it was like biting into a crisp, tart apple.  Clean and light with citrus flavors and finesse in the bubbles.  A touch of bitterness near the end with a persistent finish.  A lovely wine!  ABV 11.5% 

What does the Rive mean in the Prosecco Superiore wines of the label?  The rive were established back in 2009.  Rive are the steep slopes that are difficult to farm within the Prosecco Superiore territory.  There are 43 rive in total and each rive define a specific vineyard site that display particular characteristics in the wines that are produced from those sites.   

I also tasted the NV Villa Sandi Valdobiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry. Made from 85% Glera and 15% Chardonnay this wine was inoculated with selected yeasts and fermented in temperature controlled tanks until it reached the desired alcohol and sugar levels and was stopped by refrigeration. The color on this wine was very pale with a touch of straw color. Some stone fruit and apple on the nose. This wine had frothy bubbles with lively acidity on the palate. Nice juicy green apple notes with the fruit noticeable on the palate. A touch of peach on the finish along with some sapidity. ABV 11%, SRP $25.

You can find Villa Sandi and other Prosecco Superiore wines on Wine.com. 
 

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.  This post contains affiliate links to keep the costs minimum to run Vino Travels.  Purchasing through the links allows me to collect a small commission without any cost to you.  Thanks in advance!