The tale tells that the long spur, on the small municipality of Gressan, is more than a simple stockpile of debris of glacial origin, it is the pinkie finger of the giant called Gargantua. Exactly on these legendary slopes my passion for the vineyards and the rose. Here my grandfather passed down to me the love for the land and I could understand the value of the time dedicated to the research of the vineyards. Here is the start of our first vinifications. I am grateful for the chance of living of these emotions each day and I wish I will pass them down to you through my .

Cave Gargantua. Laurent Cuneaz and family

Name: Gargantua Rouge

Alcohol capacity: 13,00 %

Year: 2016

Grapes and percentages: typical grapes of old vines of the middle Aosta Valley; 60% and Cornalin, , Premetta, Barbera, , 40%

Annual bottle production: 5.000

Designation of origin: “Tavola”

Vinification: steel 100%

Steel aging: 6 months

Refinement in bottle: 1 month Gargantua Rouge Red – Grapes from the “Vielle vigne di Gressan” [Old vineyards of Gressan] – Alcohol capacity 13°

The Gargantua Rouge is the wine of the Cuneaz Family, forefather of all the range, is the main proponent of a oenological culture that passed down from generation to generation in the Gressan municipality. The age of the recipe, the respect for the territory, for the vineyards, the wine variety and the year of production are the main characteristics of the vision of this product. The aim is to describe in a simple way the quality of the viticulture in this country. The traditional recipe, the recovery of the simplicity, the safeguard of the origin: in the Gar- gantua Rouge we find each one if those factors. An honest wine.

The authenticity is given also by the grapes; it has been decided to recover some hectars of the old vineyards in Gressan, over 600 meters on the sea level. In these historical vineyards we’ll find the native varieties of vine of Aosta Valley such as Cornalin, Petit Rouge, Majo- let, Vien de Nus and some huge Italian and international classics of the area such as Barbe- ra, , , Pinot Noir e Gamay.

Cave Gargantua is really attached to the recovery of these areas despite the trend is the opposite; the mechanisation of the production and of the are more and more difficult indeed, and the trend is to quit these plants, also because their age doesn’t permit a regular production, influenced by the quality of the weather of that specific year. Two years of wise pruning have been necessary before the complete recovery of the grape production, the critic conditions of the plant lead them to the limit of the emaciation.

Characteristics of the wine and Cellar Techniques: The aim is to have a fresh, simple, honest wine to be consumed with every and each dish, easy to drink, perfect for the famous “Bocconata Valdostana”. Between 12° and 12,5°; some tannic marks give to the wine that body necessary to not to be too fragile. The harvest has to be made at the ideal moment of ripening of the grapes, following the criteria of the respect of the year and of the wine variety, the honesty of the fruit and of the territory will do the rest. In the cellar happens a simple vinification, a maceration not too long, approximately ten days, time for the alcoholic fermentation. The clearness of the wine is attained thanks to three months of aging in tanks and scalar filtrations.