The estate The wine estate was refounded this background in 1965, thanks to the drive and enthusiasm of Luciana Bennati, who renovated an old and abandoned hamlet in a very short space of time, whilst fully respecting all the local traditions. Besides the offices and the guardian's house, she also created quarters for guests, converted an old kitchen into a small tasting room, she built a cellar for ageing in wood casks, besides another functional and extremely modern cellar for making and storing the wine. She purposely kept it small and intimate, but of exceptionally high quality, for the pleasure of family, friends and a few very fortunate customers.

After the death of Luciana Bennati, her daughter Francesca Bortolotto has taken over running the estate. She is bound to Colmello di Grotta too, with her mother's same passion and has the intention of taking the company to the top of Friuli production, with the knowledge however, that to reach this objective she must continuously commit to seeking new ways of improving all the various aspects of her products. 

A very simple philosophy is applied to production, from the vines through to the bottled wine, to scrupulously look after and harmonise the production details so as to offer a finished product of increasingly improved quality. 

The recent addition of new vines has marked the beginning of an expansion phase for the company, setting new objectives to be reached in this new century. 

The wine making  The estate spreads over an area of 21 hectares, all used for the vines; they all face directly south and are at a height of between 40 and 80 meters above sea level. The grapevines are equally divided between the two DOC Collio and Isonzo appelations, which, though they lie close by are made up of completely different soil types.

This dual personality is perhaps the main feature of the company, as they manage to produce two completely different types of wine which perfectly complement each other. The fascinating, feminine Isonzo wines and the powerful and masculine ones from Collio. The calcareous-gravely soil of Isonzo produces wines which have elegant structures, combined with concentrated intense bouquets. The marl-sandstone soil of Collio exalts the complexity of the bouquet and the structure that bursts forth on the palate.

 If quality is desired, precise choices must be made which, only if  applied together, will lead to excellent results. This means limiting the production yield of the vines and carefully selecting the grapes during harvest. The quality of the selected grapes allows them to ferment on their lees until February/March, this way the wine acquires intensity in bouquet and flavour.