Gratena winery has built its strategy around two grape varieties: Sangiovese and Gratena Nero, a recently rediscovered indigenous varietal officially certified by the Tuscany Region in 2017. The winery holds exclusive ownership and production rights to Gratena Nero.
Rediscovered Heritage In 2018, Gratena Nero was certified as a synonym of Incrocio Terzi 1, a small-scale grape variety historically planted in the Bergamo hills. The connection links back to the winery's previous ownership—the last proprietor before the current owner's grandfather hailed from Bergamo.
Natural Production Methods Gratena employs exclusively natural winemaking practices.
All grapes are hand-harvested and undergo spontaneous fermentation without added yeasts or sulfites. The vineyards receive no artificial fertilization; according to the winery, "Rain is our fertilizer, and we wait for it every year." Fermentation occurs in outdoor steel tanks—the winery abandoned wood aging in 2016. No temperature control is applied during processing; instead, day and night temperature fluctuations manage the grapes during fermentation. A minimal sulfite addition before bottling is the only intervention, intended to support long-term aging potential. The 140-hectare property includes surrounding forest that the winery credits as supporting terroir expression. "Our wines must express our terroir, so the flowers and plants of our 140 hectares of forest surrounding our vineyards must give their support," the winery states. "Nature helps us, not always, to keep the balance of our terroir."
Why It Matters
Gratena's model reflects a narrowing focus on place-based, low-intervention viticulture—a positioning strategy that prioritizes terroir articulation and native varietal recovery over production scale, with implications for how small European wineries compete in a consolidating natural wine market.
For more insights and trends in the food and beverage sector, check out more articles in The Food & Beverage Magazine family of publications.
Written by FBM Publications Editors
