Tenuta Col Sereno

The farm estate “Col Sereno”, family owned, is  4 hectares  large and, with the exception of the level ground just around the apartments, is mostly terrace-shaped and  mainly dedicated to the cultivation of olive –trees for the production of extra virgin olive oil; there is also a small vineyard, which supplies owners, their friends and guests with wine , and  a small quantity of grappa which is distilled from must.
Many fruit trees are planted here and there,  to ensure  production throughout the year, to be directly eaten, or for the production of tasty jams.
The activities needed to run the land are marked by the trend of the seasons and take place without disturbing the stay of guests, who, if they wish, can take part in some of them, such as the grape picking (late September/early October) or the olive harvest (mid-October/late December).
All   products, primarily intended for self- consumption, are made using natural methods and without the use of chemicals (only for the care of the vineyard we use essential compounds based on copper and sulphur); part of the production, in the quantities available from time to time, may be purchased by guests on their arrival, when they receive free samples.

The extra-virgin olive oil is obtained exclusively by mechanical cold pressing of  olives harvested manually on the farm, stored in a suitable environment only long enough to achieve the required quantity to the formation of a "pilata" (quantity in  the process of pressing  that ensures that the oil product comes exclusively from their own olives, usually 250-350 kg.), and do not undergo any further treatment.

The variety of trees (about 800 plants, divided into types frantoio, leccino, moraiolo and pendolino) gives the product a flavor fragrant, fresh, harmonious, pleasantly sour with a pleasant  vein of almonds..

 

Its name "The Pigno" is a call to the fruit from which it originated. (Grape is "pigna" in italian language)
The vineyard is relatively recent planting (average age 15 years), in rows with a density of 2000 vines per hectare, and is situated  on a South-facing slope, with frank and sandy soil, with the presence of  silica and magnesium.
The wine is the product of a blend of only white grapes (Vermentino, Trebbiano, Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia toscana, San Colombano), produced according to the ancient tradition of the territory, with a process that consists in a rasping decantation of the must and fermentation at room temperature with refinement which lasts for 5 months, during which it is subject to at least 3 "changes" for the  separation of the lees gradually deposited.
The resulting color is intense, amber, crystal clear and the bouquet is intense, richly fruity with notes of ripe peach, well balanced on the palate.  
The alcoholic content varies depending on the vintage, which is normally between 12 and 13%.

 

The must recovered without pressing from wine production is subject to a single slow distillation, giving rise, after the necessary removal of initial and final fractions, to a grappa of  not very high  alcoholic content, but characterized by special fragrance and aroma.

 

The hives, which were 2 some years ago but today  have become a dozen thanks to retrieving hiving off occurring in spring, are located approximately 700 metres from the holiday house, on the edge of a grove of acacia trees and in front of non-cultivated fields, which in season dress with the colours of various flowers.
Honey is normally taken 2 times a year:
-the first at the end of spring, lighter in colour because it is produced mainly on the bloom of acacia: its taste is light, delicate, and recalls the sweet ripe fruit,  but not cloying;  it has a very delayed crystallization, with very thick crystal and easily soluble in water.
-the second in the summer, and is a honey that comes from many flower species (called for this "millefiori"), contains the merits of the many nectars from which it derives. It has a grainy texture and its color is variable depending on the origin  of the nectar. Its taste is sweet, fruity, determined  and strong, and crystallizes easily.