Curtefranca Bianco was the first wine made by Ca’ del Bosco in 1972 with the name of Pinot di Franciacorta Bianco. The first wine, which, although after many years of attentive bottle aging, always surprises thanks to its extraordinary capacity to develop, a product of its unsuspected longevity. First named Franciacorta Bianco DOC, it later became Terre di Franciacorta, and then Curtefranca Bianco. Starting with the 2017 harvest, it was re-named Corte del Lupo. The two words are well depicted on the new label, which summarizes the essence of the terroir and proclaims the viticultural excellence of Ca’ del Bosco: the vineyard, the Court, the enveloping woods and the wolves, loyal guardians of the domain.The Ca’ del Bosco method means paying close attention to every little detail. During the wine harvest, every step is crucial.

The bunches of grapes are moved in small crates to avoid any squashing.
After they are picked by hand, they are cooled in a refrigerated cell and cold-pressed.
All the bunches are carefully selected by hand: only healthy grapes can be made into great wine.

After the whole bunches are pressed, the must is divided into three grades. The highest quality musts are vinified by single vineyards, in order to allow them to fully express their terroir.

Vineyards of provenance
11 Chardonnay vineyards planted an average of 35 years ago located in the municipality of Erbusco and Cazzago San Martino.
2 Pinot Blanc vineyards planted an average of 30 years ago located in the municipality of Passirano.
Harvest
The 2022 winter was not particularly frigid, and as has been the rule in the past few years, there was also little rain. At the end of March, about a week later than the previous year, the first buds appeared on the Chardonnay and Pinot vines. After that, flowering was quite rapid, occurring mostly in the second half of May. This first part of the growing season, without rain and with high temperatures, favored the development of healthy grapes; around June 20th, however, the looser soils were already starting to become parched. During the three months crucial to the vines’ vegetative growth, precipitation for the period was less than a quarter of the average rainfall recorded over the past decade. The first real rain came on the evening of July 28th, a relief but not enough to slake the thirst of our vineyards. In some areas they were forced to irrigate in order to safeguard the quality of the year’s production. The grape harvest began on Saturday, August 6th. Two downpours towards the end of the harvest, one on the evening of August 15th and the other a few days later, put an end to both the heat and the drought, and postponed the end of the harvest until Saturday 21st. The resulting wines are quite well-structured, with a pleasantly fresh acidity, featuring fruity notes over an excellent citrusy base.
The wine harvest lasted 14 days, with an average yield per hectare of 8,400 kilos of grapes, equal to 3,650 liters of wine (grape-to-wine: 43%).

“Corte del Lupo Bianco” is made from grapes harvested in 13 vineyards, whose exposure, clones and ages ensure the expression of fullness and integrity typical of a white wine in the Ca’ del Bosco style. The perfect marriage: the fragrance of Chardonnay grapes and the elegance of Pinot Bianco. In line with the Ca’ del Bosco Method, the grapes are hand-picked and placed in small crates on which a code is immediately stamped, just before they are cold-stored. Each bunch is selected by expert eyes and hands, and then goes through their exclusive “berry spa,” a special whirlpool-like wash for grape bunches, consisting of three soaking tanks, followed by thorough drying. Only the free-run juice is used for this wine, about 1⁄4 of which is aged in small oak barrels, used the year before for Chardonnay. The remaining must is fermented in steel vats. After 8 months of aging on their lees, without malolactic fermentation, the two fractions are assembled. The wine is then gravity-bottled, in a most natural manner. Thanks to their innovative long-nozzle filling tubes, the wine will rise from the bottom without lamination or shaking, and will not suffer from oxidative stress. No sulfites are added at this stage, to guarantee integrity and wholesomeness. Finally, each bottle is marked with a unique code, to ensure traceability.