1. Broad marketing activity

2. Olive oil production

3. LOTO 2022!

MARKETING: Our Petra Pforr initially rushed across Germany for a few weeks, with our entire wine selection in her luggage: Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich - Abayan/Weinwolf had invited us, to present our winery “VILLA SANTO STEFANO” to the local wine trade and selected restaurants for a critical tasting. Every time it feels a little tingling - the competition is big, our winery is small... And every time afterwards the fantastic feeling: the reactions were positive to fantastic! The orders too. For the first time, we were able to present our top product with a top vintage and aroused particular desire with this special edition: 999 Magnum of our Cabernet Franc 2019. Back in Lucca, Petra took advantage of the end of the summer season to invite restaurant owners, top chefs and sommeliers from our Versilia coast to the tasting . They came in large numbers, which we consider a great compliment. A special honor: The LUX LUCIS restaurant team from the 5-star PRINCIPE hotel in Forte di Marmi was a guest - and these days we can welcome the owner and team of the Osteria CANDALLA - a spectacular location in the middle of a steep, rocky gorge Restaurant near Camaiore.

OLIVE HARVEST: How worried were we! The months of heat and drought had caused the unripe olives to rain from the trees. But when we had the first cold pressing in mid-October, there was a real buzz: It's fantastic! The oil fly had no chance, the light rain after Ferragosto was a blessing. Yes, we have less oil than last year because the remaining olives were also smaller. But the organic oil rewards us with an excellent taste, an attractive scent - and a slightly spicy finish - as always. And as always, the harvest was strenuous and time-consuming for our men. Harvested by hand and immediately driven every evening to the best oil mill in the region called LENCI, which is a 40-minute drive from us. The effort was so worth it! You still need a little patience before you can try the green-gold drop. Because we enjoy the privilege of being one of the six DOP-LUCCA certified olive oils... which is subject to extensive quality testing by the authorities every year. We will have the seal by mid-December – hopefully!

LOTO 2022: At the same time, there is of course a lot going on in the wine cellar. Our LOTO 2022 is being further developed - complex, that's part of it. Every year 30% of the barrels are renewed with fresh wood. Then the grape varieties are filled separately into the barrique and tonneaux barrels: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Now they ripen – extensively! We give them 14 months. The voltage increases! Have a good winter! …and enjoy our wines! Your team Villa Santo Stefano