This new artisan project is a masterfully crafted, lower-alcohol red wine forged by our trusted partner Filippo Voltazza at Monteversa in the rugged Euganean Hills of Northern Italy.
A decade in the making, Cervo is a crown jewel of our collection. As rustic as it is elegant, this Bordeaux-style blend is bold enough to rival the great wines of the Left and Right Bank. Yet it is fresh and vibrant enough to meet our strict purity standards: light in alcohol, fermented dry without sugar, and grown without chemicals.
Read on for the remarkable origins of this cuvée.
33 Million Years Ago
Looking out over the Euganean Hills, it’s as if the earth once boiled, and a series of great bubbles were petrified mid-burst. These rounded hills are not volcanoes in the traditional sense—there were no eruptions, no lava flows. But their cores are volcanic, formed from deep, molten surges that never breached the ocean floor above.
Erosion sculpted the terrain into soft domes and conical forms. Formed between 34 and 33 million years ago, the Euganean Hills are not part of a single mountain range but instead rose one by one from seismic shifts beneath the sea. Each hill is geologically unique, with its own soil composition, mineral identity, and shape, like Mount Lozzo, rising in solitary majesty from the surrounding flatlands.
There are around 100 such hills within a compact area southwest of Venice, including Monteversa’s own Monte Versa. The soil they share is dark, stony, and rich with volcanic history, perfect for vines, as local winemakers would later discover.
1869
In the late 19th century, a wave of viticultural experimentation swept through Veneto. Local aristocrats imported vines from France, Germany, and Austria, establishing the region as Italy’s foremost center for international varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Riesling, Syrah, and others all took root—many on the volcanic slopes of the Euganean Hills.
On these hillsides, Cabernet in particular flourished. Locals dubbed the resulting wines, “vino puro di monte,” or “pure wine of the hills,” for their vivid expression and structure. The Counts Corinaldi doubled down, planting both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in prized volcanic soils. Their efforts were quickly validated: in 1900, a Veneto Cabernet won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition for the first time.
1989
Recognizing the rare geological and ecological value of the area, the Euganean Hills were officially declared a protected regional park in 1989. Industrial development was banned, preserving this patchwork of forest, vineyard, and hillside for generations to come.
The protection ensured that the legacy of volcanic terroir, and the vineyards rooted in it, would remain undisturbed.
2007
In 2007, the Monteversa estate was purchased by Santino and Filippo Voltazza. Though not trained in viticulture, Filippo, a metallurgical engineer, brought with him a precision honed by years in automotive R&D. He turned his analytical eye to the vineyards, prioritizing low yields, healthy soils, and careful observation over industrial shortcuts.
From the outset, the Voltazza family began the conversion to organic farming, and would not harvest grapes until 100% certified. The goal: to create wines of clarity and intention, grounded in the volcanic character of their site.
2010
2019
