Orto, the wine of the Venetian lagoon

A true reveler he knows what he wants, especially as he reaches mature age. Michel Thoulouze, French from Pézenas born in 1945, after having worked all his life in the world of television as a successful manager in the 80s and 90s, he began to think about what his buen retiro could be. But the passion, the love for the wife of that period (she had three of them) and also a little luck, meant that the choice of rest was transformed into a second life (even work) dedicated to wine . Mind you, not just any wine. Michelle produces a wonderful white in the Venetian lagoon.

«A great terroir is better than a great winemaker for a great wine», he begins with his perennial Gitanes without a filter in the mouth. We are at St. Erasmusan island that still today has only 700 inhabitants and which has always been the first supplier of vegetables and fruit for Venice, in particular with the «castraure», the Slow Food Presidium violet artichokes which have led it to be nicknamed «the Garden of Venice» or «l’Orto dei Dogi», hence the name of the cellar.

It is here that Michel decided, driven by the wishes of his ex-wife, to buy 11 hectares of land but he never would have thought of cultivating vines. Instead, the marriage ended and production began, also driven by the discovery of an old eighteenth-century map which defined that land as the «Grape variety of the Noble Man»; he had it carefully analyzed and, contrary to what some expert friends in the sector had suggested to him, he decided to embark on the enterprise of wanting to redevelop it, to recreate a great terroir for wine.

Helped by great advisors such as Lydia and Claude Bourguignon (agronomists from Romanée Conti), and Alain Graillot (he is the father of the famous Crozes Hermitage in Côte du Rhône), began this process which required five years of work before planting 4.5 hectares of vineyards (all the vines are free foot and have never seen the shadow of herbicides or chemical fertilizers, let alone the figure of a winemaker). They were prepared according to the traditional “hard on hard” method (that is, without ever plowing) by sowing barley, sorghum, oats, radish and Chinese root in succession.

Typical is mainly cultivated Istrian Malvasia, together with Vermentino and Fiano di Avellino. Strictly hand harvested, essential vinification with natural fermentations and 10 months aging in steel barrels plus 2 years in the bottle. A gem is instead dedicated to the magnums: they come sink in a sandolo (traditional Venetian boat) in a secret point of the lagoon so as to have neither oxygen nor light, and not be subject to vibrations but with a constant temperature.

Orto is a wine of great elegance but above all marked longevityalthough the first harvest dates back to 2008, tasting the first vintages one realizes how far each bottle of this aging white can go, the only Italian to appear in Alain Ducasse’s Parisian restaurant at theHotel Plaza Athenee.

And then there is its taste-olfactory profile which offers a truly noteworthy drinking pleasure. The mineral nose alternates the notes of tropical fruit with the delicate ones of honey and saffron, the white flowers counteract the salty and iodized hints. In the mouth it is enveloping, full, harmonious and very persistent, the sip always invites the next one and gives this wine such versatility as to be perfect alone or in combination, especially with the typical moeche of the lagoon or very mature cheeses.

The cellar has been renovated maintaining the original flavor and charm and has become an essential destination for visits by many foreign tourists; this old farmhouse located on a small island can be reached by boat or vaporetto. Arriving here today takes the visitor to a surreal dimension why would you ever think of finding vineyards and a small cellar for winemaking a stone’s throw from the water, at the gates of the ancient and fascinating Venice. The added value (ça va sans dire) comes from the figure of Michel, who by uncorking one of the bottles will not talk about wine but his stories will inebriate the friend on duty who has chosen to visit him by sharing the wonderful light on the lagoon at sunset.