Veneto
, Italy
Winery Overview
In the mid 1990s, Carla Prospero, and her daughter, Nadia Zenato, acquired a large 18th century farm in the Sirmione
area called Sansonina. With this purchase they accepted a challenge to disprove some preconceptions. They set
about producing exceptional red wine in a zone traditionally known for whites, while demonstrating that well
structured red wine isn’t necessarily men’s work.
Sansonina, the name given to the impressive 18th century cascina near Sirmione, derives from Samson, the Biblical
judge called upon by God to defeat Israel’s enemies with his superhuman strength. The name also belonged to a
woman who owned the estate centuries ago, nicknamed “Little Samson” for her strong character. Today, Sansonina
maintains this masculine-feminine dualism. The property is located in the zone that produces Lugana, one of the
most famous white wines of the Lombard-Veneto region and by definition, a feminine wine. But Sansonina is also
the only vineyard in the area to have old Merlot vines, a highly valued grape used to make some of the world’s most
important red wines. With a typically feminine combination of determination and sensitivity, Carla and Nadia have
succeeded in producing hearty, powerful and elegant wines.
Location of Vineyard
While the wine of Sansonina is a relatively new project for the Zenato women, the history of the land where
Cascina Sansonina lies dates back 20,000 years when glaciers occupied the land from the lower Po Valley to the
Alps. When the glaciers melted, the entire land mass was covered by the sea, and ultimately left with deposits
of an unusually high fossil content—almost pure limestone—alternating with channels of clay sediment. The
Zenato women recognized this mixture of soil as being identical to some of the finest vineyard
terroirs
around
the world for Merlot grapes and used these as the reference standard for their single varietal Sansonina. It is
well known by viticulturalists that this soil mix offers the precise mix of water and drainage which is essential to
Merlot’s maturation. The real secret of this zone’s success is its ability to produce grapes with a high phenolic
concentration (color, tannin, etc.), allowing them to ripen slowly and evenly. These conditions produce complex,
elegant and ageworthy Merlots.
Winemaking Philosophy
Carla and Nadia Zenato are in charge of the vision and the realization of this project and work with the same group
of highly talented winemaking professionals from the Zenato winery to craft an elegant, world class wine.
