On Friday 11 November, at 10.00, the results of the experimental project “High altitude wines. THE CALCAGNO WINES AT 2800 ALTITUDE”, born from the collaboration between INGV and the Calcagno winery. The project, which began on 22 July 2015 and ended on 22 July last, was born from the idea of setting up, at the Pizzi Deneri Observatory, at an altitude of 2813 m, a corner dedicated to the refinement of a batch of bottles of of the Calcagno company, placed in wooden crates, for a period of about 12 months. The first of its kind, the project is based on the theories of Pasteur (1822-1895), a French chemist, biologist and microbiologist, who claimed: "the air at high altitudes is germ-free and is better for preserving a fermented product like wine". According to the scholar, in fact, "the rarer air, with less oxygen, keeps the wines younger".The objective of the experimentation was to observe the factors considered by Pasteur, together with the exclusive microclimate, the profound silence, the absolute absence of light and the low concentration of oxygen, present at an altitude of 2.813, which favor the "slowdown" of the process of maturation of the wine and, therefore, the longevity of the same, evolving both from an organoleptic point of view and of the color tone. Also highlight the strong link between native wines and the uniqueness of the Etna area.
At the end of the first year of refinement, the wines were subjected to checks in order to establish the effective health of the products. The final phase of the experimentation, consisting in the recovery of the bottles in the Observatory area, foresees an analytical tasting by a commission of sector experts (oenologists, journalists, sommeliers).
During the day of presentation, the wines, object of the experimentation, will be sold through a charity auction and the proceeds will be donated to INGV, collaborator of the project, for earthquake research and for the purchase of specific machinery dedicated to monitoring and volcanic surveillance. The choice of presenting the results of the project at the observatory is meant to be an added value in terms of sensations and emotions deriving from the experimentation.
Speakers will include: the director of the Etneo-INGV Observatory, Eugenio Privitera, the owners and oenologist of the Calcagno company, a commission of tasters made up of Marco Mangiarotti (Il Giorno), Fabrizio Carrera and Federico Latteri (both from Cronache del Gusto) . The mayors of Linguaglossa and Castiglione di Sicilia, the President of the Etna Park were invited.