Molinelli Winery
Story
The Molinelli Company was founded in 1846, but it was with Giovanni during the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s that Molinelli became an esteemed producer of table grapes, proven by the numerous medals won by the company in Provincial Contests as early as 1929.
To the production of table grapes, including Regina, Delizia and Verdea, which are harvested in September and conserved on racks until being sold at Christmas, Molinelli also added a modest quantity of classic Piacenza wine grapes, such as Bonarda, Barbera and Malvasia, which were used for producing bulk wines that were destined primarily for family consumption.
However, during this period the company’s vineyards had to be “renovated” due to an infestation of the grape leaf louse, the cause of a relentless disease in grape vineyards. To combat the parasites, the old vines had to be removed and replaced with new vines grafted onto American plants, which were the only vines that were immune to the disease. In the 1930’s, the production of wine grapes for bulk wine sales intensified, overtaking the production of table grapes, which were becoming less competitive in respect to those coming from Southern Italy.
After World War II, guided by Giuseppe Molinelli, and then his son Giancarlo, the variety of produced wines was expanded to include Müller Thurgau, a crossbreed between Riesling and Silvaner created by Professor Müller in the Swiss region of Thurgau, which thrived in the generous land of Ziano. The company’s most important turning point came in the 1950’s when large scale bottling was implemented, which allowed for the selling of excellent high quality wine for slightly higher prices.
Part of the prestige of the Molinelli Company is also due to the discovery of a mysterious variety of white grapes in the 1960’s, which could not be classified. After being examined by many specialists of the sector, a brand new morphological chart was published by Professor Fregoni of the Catholic University of Piacenza. Molinelli Grapes were then “patented”, and their high sugar levels inspired the production of Molinelli Vendemmia Tardiva and the new Tabula Rasa. Tradition and innovation are the trademarks of the character of Giancarlo's son Luigi Molinelli, who has inherited the knowledge of the many generations of grape vine growers who came before him. Graduated with a degree as Horticulturist from the Catholic University of Piacenza, where he also completed his Master’s Degree in Oenology, Luigi Molinelli combines continuous technological experimentation with total respect for the territory, the vineyard and its bounty.