How a traditional Italian winery like Tenute Sella embraces technology and innovation with winemaking
With evidence of vineyards back to 1436, Tenute Sella takes a distinctively modern approach to winemaking where the philosophy is to blend tradition with innovation.
Tenute Sella is one of the classic and long-standing traditional producers of Piedmont in northwest Italy. Based in Upper Piedmont, Tenute Sella produces wine from the noble Italian grape Nebbiolo and other indigenous varietals Barbera, Vespolina, Croatina, and Erbaluce and the Germany-derived Riesling.
Established in 1671, when the Sella family acquired its first vineyard holdings, Tenute Sella began making wine in the 18th Century. When it entered the wine industry, the Sella family was well known for its history in the banking and textile industries.
Of the more than 20 hectares of vines the wine company owns today, there are vineyards in different sub-zones, each with varying soils, resulting in a range of terroirs. Producing complex and elegant wine styles, Tenute Sella produces a Nebbiolo-based sparkling wine (Metodo Classico), two white wines, and three red DOC wines from different sub-zones.
Stefano Marino works for Tenute Sella alongside cellar manager Riccardo Giovannini. During his eight-year stint in Australia, Marino was introduced to vintrace while working harvest for one of its customers. Giovannini was already considering using software technology to track the contents of the winery’s tanks and barrels, and Marino leveraged his knowledge of the software to replicate what he learned in Australia.
Not only is Tenute Sella able to maintain accurate and timely records using vintrace, but it also utilises the software to keep detailed information on batches of wine, including sub-zones and the varying soil types in their vineyards. This record-keeping is particularly crucial for the bottling and labeling of its DOC wines and ensuring compliance with Italy’s strict laws for wine designations every step of the way. Tenute Sella can also customise how it views the various components of vintrace based on its specific requirements.
Margie Frasier-Clancy, vintrace’s new European sales manager, recently met with Marino at the winery, and she was impressed at their progress.
Marino explained: “One of my favourite features is the comprehensive reporting system. It speeds up our work, and I can organise all the reports in separate folders for easy access”.
2020 marks Tenute Sella’s first harvest using vintrace, and Giovannini and Marino are looking forward to utilising even more features of the software over the winter months for bottling and distribution.
“This software is very robust. I feel like we have a Ferrari and are only in first gear,” Marino said.
It’s delightful to see a winery so deep-rooted in tradition introducing technology and innovation into the winemaking process.
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“This software is very robust. I feel like we have a Ferrari and are only in first gear.”
Stefano Marino,Tenute Sella, Lessona, Province of Biella, Italy
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