Cantrina is a tiny rural village located in the municipality of Bedizzole, on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy. The territory develops on a morainic amphitheater, with gently sloping terraces surrounding Lake Garda and it represents the northernmost place in the world where olive trees, capers, and citrus fruits still grow today. The soil is made of fluvio-glacial deposits, mainly clay, silt, and gravel created by the retreating glaciers during the last ice age. The climate is markedly Mediterranean thanks to the vicinity of Italy’s largest body of water whose moderating effect creates ideal conditions for viticulture.
Cristina Inganni and Diego Lavo created the company that bears the name of the village in which they live, Cantrina. The winery is strictly family-run and cultivates a total of just under 6 hectares of land on a band of gentle morainic hills. Production began in 1999 and from the onset, the focus has always been on producing wines that would convey the natural characteristics of the land and on practicing viticulture with a deep respect for the environment.
The main grapevine heritage of the areas is Groppello, so called because it is characterized by tight berries at harvest (groppo is a local term for knot). It is a delicate, precious, rare variety, so much so that today only 400 hectares of Groppello remain, cultivated exclusively in the coastal area of south-western Lake Garda. Only when combined with its elective terroir, Groppello can exhibit its innate elegance and longevity. At Cantrina both varieties of Groppello, Gentile, and Mocasina, are grown. Other varieties include Rebo (a crossing of Merlot and Teroldego created by agronomist Rebo Rigotti), Marzemino, Merlot, Incrocio Manzoni, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay.
Cristina and Diego like to describe their work in the vineyard and cellar as a "free exercise of style", void of preconceptions and conditioning, but with the utmost respect for the peculiarities of the local terroir and the natural cycles. Since the beginning, the winery has put a strong effort into reducing as much as possible the environmental impact and in 2017 it received the Organic farming certification. The growth of wild herbs and flowers through the rows of vines is encouraged and manure is used for localized fertilization. Pruning, canopy management, and harvest are carried out manually. In the cellar, Diego prefers a non-interventionist approach. The use of sulfites is reduced to the bare minimum and only natural products are used for clarification. Wines are bottled unfiltered.
When it comes to packaging, Cristina and Diego only work with local suppliers, using recycled or recyclable cardboard, and avoiding unnecessarily heavy bottles.
