Colmello Di Grotta

The company was founded in the 1960s, as the cellar of the Hotel Bauer in Venice. It was founded by a Genoese shipowner named Arnaldo Bennati who, in 1930, transformed an old brewery into a luxury 5* hotel. Passionate about agriculture since he was a child, Arnaldo began to acquire land "far and wide", starting from the Piave area and reaching Friuli-Venezia Giulia where, in 1938, he took over Tenuta Villanova - which also included Colmello di Grotta. The company, subsequently entrusted to his daughter Luciana Bennati, was initially dedicated to horticulture, to "feed" the needs of the Venetian hotel. Starting from the 1980s, however, there was a decisive "change of direction", which saw the vine as the main cultivation. To date, there are approximately 21 hectares, of which 6 are forested; hectares managed organically since 2021, 40% distributed in the Collio area and the remaining 60% in the Isonzo area. "Supervising" them is Roberto Ottogalli, who joined the company at the beginning of the new millennium and is now its CEO; Company now in its third generation "in pink": after Luciana Bennati and Francesca Bortolotto, today it is the turn of the young Olimpia Possati.

From the founder's passion for France, in the vineyard we mainly find French clones: from Pinot Gris (Alsace), to Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre) up to Chardonnay Mosqué (Chablis). An "inherited" heritage, which we have tried to preserve - where possible. And which has seen the integration, with the transition to the organic regime, of native varieties such as Friulano, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Schiopettino and Franconia. “Rustic” grapes, which give wines with an identity, faithful to the “personality” of the terroir; wines obtained from selected yeasts, aged in amphora (variable period, depending on the variety), which today reach 35-40,000 units/year.