The History of the estate
The twin soul of Castello di Luzzano is revealed in all its splendour when you come to the centre of the hill accomodating the Castle and its surrounding buildings. Rooted partly in Lombardy and part in Emilia Romagna, the stately scenery of the Oltrepò Pavese lies to the west and the fascination of the Colli Piacentini to the east.
Located on the border between the two territories, Luzzano hovers in perfect balance between them. And, at 270 metres high, it offers breathtaking views across their winding slopes to the horizon. This unique position straddling the original boundary has reminded unaltered for centuries despite the other changes wrought by history.
The area's paticular suitability for viticulture, and moreover for one of Italy's widest ranges of grape varieties, has been of note since ancient times. Indeed, it was grape growing and winemaking that brought it to prominence as a farming villa in the 1st century A.D.
With the arrival of the Fugazza Family, who took over ownership at the start of the 20th century, Luzzano was joined by the Romito estate in the Colli Piacentini. Today it is Giovannella who runs the estate and her immutabile passion is what continues to carry forward this extraordinary amalgam of history, land and quality.
The lands and the wines
The property currently extends over 110 hectares of which 70 are under vine. Some comes under the Oltrepò Pavese denomination and some Colli Piacentini. The vineyards are planted at altitudes of 180-270 metres around the two clusters of estate buildings, giving a 360° view onto their perfect geometrical patterns of horizontal and vertical lines.
Although the two estates lie close together there are differences in the soils. Luzzano has mostly schistous marls and calcareous marls from the Pliocene era with an underlying stratum of tufaceous rock. This combination results in elegant yet well-structured red wines known to age well. The soils at Romito, which is famous for its Malvasia di Candia Aromatica grape, are instead formed of deep sands, lime and ironrich clays that give rise to perfumed wines of great finesse. The classic Guyot training system is used at both, with a planting density of 3500-4800 vines/hectare and a yield of 80-90 quintals/hectare (equivalent to approximately 55-65 Hl/Ha).
The area's typical varieties, Barbera, Bonarda, Pinot Nero and Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, take pride of place. But Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Syrah have also been planted for some years ago and now give exellent results.
The twin soul of Castello di Luzzano is revealed in all its splendour when you come to the centre of the hill accomodating the Castle and its surrounding buildings. Rooted partly in Lombardy and part in Emilia Romagna, the stately scenery of the Oltrepò Pavese lies to the west and the fascination of the Colli Piacentini to the east.
Located on the border between the two territories, Luzzano hovers in perfect balance between them. And, at 270 metres high, it offers breathtaking views across their winding slopes to the horizon. This unique position straddling the original boundary has reminded unaltered for centuries despite the other changes wrought by history.
The area's paticular suitability for viticulture, and moreover for one of Italy's widest ranges of grape varieties, has been of note since ancient times. Indeed, it was grape growing and winemaking that brought it to prominence as a farming villa in the 1st century A.D.
With the arrival of the Fugazza Family, who took over ownership at the start of the 20th century, Luzzano was joined by the Romito estate in the Colli Piacentini. Today it is Giovannella who runs the estate and her immutabile passion is what continues to carry forward this extraordinary amalgam of history, land and quality.
The lands and the wines
The property currently extends over 110 hectares of which 70 are under vine. Some comes under the Oltrepò Pavese denomination and some Colli Piacentini. The vineyards are planted at altitudes of 180-270 metres around the two clusters of estate buildings, giving a 360° view onto their perfect geometrical patterns of horizontal and vertical lines.
Although the two estates lie close together there are differences in the soils. Luzzano has mostly schistous marls and calcareous marls from the Pliocene era with an underlying stratum of tufaceous rock. This combination results in elegant yet well-structured red wines known to age well. The soils at Romito, which is famous for its Malvasia di Candia Aromatica grape, are instead formed of deep sands, lime and ironrich clays that give rise to perfumed wines of great finesse. The classic Guyot training system is used at both, with a planting density of 3500-4800 vines/hectare and a yield of 80-90 quintals/hectare (equivalent to approximately 55-65 Hl/Ha).
The area's typical varieties, Barbera, Bonarda, Pinot Nero and Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, take pride of place. But Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay and Syrah have also been planted for some years ago and now give exellent results.