New cellar
The dawn of a new project
An idea that respects nature and enhances our land
Our dream has always been to transform the Planisium Estate into the most ecological and sustainable wine cellar in Southern Italy. We have been working on this impressive project for two years now. We want to create a building that respects the environment, equipped with the most advanced technologies for quality wine production.
The original idea for the geometric layout of the new winery came about not only from analysis of the setting and the neighbouring historical buildings, but also from a study of the ancient maps of the area. The entire design was planned according to the rule of the golden ratio or divine proportion, which historically indicated a continuous striving for perfection: a piece of architecture whose form refers to the beauty and harmony of the whole.
We wanted to find a way to exploit the difference in height typical of the local terrain to our advantage. We were seeking a way to create a building that could embrace the principles of green building, for increasingly sustainable production, because we are convinced that natural resources are not inexhaustible.
The project was designed by architect Edoardo Venturini at Cantine fatte ad Arte®.
A tour through our new eco-sustainable winery
Today, the new Planisium Estate winery is slowly coming to life, a three-storey building that houses different structures on different levels and a large car park.
10 metres below sea level, there is the conservation cellar where we refine and age the red wine in wooden barriques; the ageing cellars for white wine, in steel tanks and glass bottles, and the entrance hall connected to the upper floors.
A little higher up, 6 metres below sea level, is our actual production department. Here we have the vinification cellar, bottling room, and storage warehouse where we keep our finished products, rooms for our workers, the heating plant and dedicated handling routes.
Going up a little further, we come to the mezzanine floor, given over to harvesting of the grapes. There are ramps for reaching the different levels, spaces for parking farm carts and a covered yard for transporting and delivering the grapes to the presses and hopper.
Finally we come to the ground floor where we welcome our visitors and all those who wish to take a tour of our winery.
We have a wine shop and two tasting rooms where you can try typical local products. This is the starting point for our guided tours of the vineyards and cellars and other educational initiatives including the grape harvest.
There is also space for a conference room where we hold meetings for sommeliers, wine lovers and cultural events in collaboration with associations active in the world of wine, such as the Women of Wine in Puglia (Donne del Vino di Puglia).
There are also plenty of open spaces. Our winery is in fact surrounded by vast green areas, pedestrian paths and small squares where you can stop and admire the beautiful scenery all around.
The Puglia winery that is green at heart
We have chosen to embrace the principles of green building for our new winery: it is designed exclusively with natural sustainable ecological materials, friendly to the environment and to man.
In order to respect local building traditions, we have opted for the use of indigenous materials, such as Apricena stone, quarried just a few kilometres from our estate.
It is a Nearly Zero Energy Building, a highly energy-efficient building whose operation requires very little energy, most of which is produced from renewable sources.
We use photovoltaic solar panels to power the entire winery, even during the wine production cycle. We recover and reuse rainwater, a valuable asset for environmentally sustainable production.
As an alternative energy source, we exploit the three winds typical of the Daunian Mountains, in particular those blowing from the north and west, to naturally ventilate the wine departments, free them from the carbon dioxide produced and purify the air in these rooms.
The differing heights of our terrain has made it possible to create a gravity-flow cellar that is the most innovative concept on the market today. The rooms are on different levels in order to exploit the force of gravity and thus avoid stressing the grapes unnecessarily. All this means we have no need for pumps or other machinery to move grapes, must and wine, which benefits the product and prevents energy waste.
