Take a Ferrari Home With You!

We really mean a Ferrari-Carano wine. They are one of California's great producers, and we've been carrying several of their wines for some time. We just had the opportunity to bring in a beautiful summer white wine from Ferrari-Carano at nearly 50% off, so we had to share that with you.

Great Wine Begins in the Vineyard

The fact that the winery’s name incorporates the word “Vineyards” is a deliberate way to empha-size that grape source and terroir play important roles in the final product. From a small, 30-acre plot of grapes purchased in 1979, to today’s 19 estate vineyards in six different appellations totaling over 1,500 acres, Ferrari-Carano owns some of the finest wine growing properties in all of California.

Directed by Don Carano and orchestrated under the supervision of Steve Domenichelli, Director of Vineyard Operations, Ferrari-Carano’s vineyard practices are extremely labor intensive. Steve and his team implement irrigation and nutrient regimes, trellis system and canopy management, rootstock and clone combinations, and pruning and cane selection for each vineyard site and each block within a vineyard. Because of Sonoma, Napa/Carneros and Mendocino County's diverse geological makeup, even within one vineyard parcel there may be several different types of soil with different degrees of nutrients for vines and water-holding capacity.

Steve and his team have long practiced sustainable farming techniques, such as recycling organic matter for use as mulch in the vineyards, planting cover crops and other plant species to avoid soil erosion and to add desirable nutrients back to the soil as well as attract desirable insects, and integrating animals to naturally enhance biodiversity and nutrient recycling.

Ferrari-Carano’s unique, white wine blend, the 2012 Bella Luce, means “beautiful light” in Italian. Bella Luce is a fragrant and light wine with refreshing acidity that is made from varieties that complement one another in aromas, flavors and texture.

Winemaker Notes

Individual lots of white wine grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Canelli are gently pressed into stainless steel tanks for 48 hours of cold settling, and then racked to stainless steel tanks for a cold fermentation. The wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation in order to retain its bright flavors and crisp acidity. After fermentation, each lot of wine is evaluated before creating the final blend.

                            Food Pairing

Bella Luce has delicious layers of Muscat, honeydew, orange, lychee, pineapple, peach and apple, along with lingering cream, vanilla, lemon and a floral finish. Bella Luce is a delicious and refreshing wine that is perfect as an apéritif, or with shellfish, light pasta dishes, and light appetizers.

                            Vintage Notes

Grapes from select vineyard sites combine to create this aromatic and refreshing wine. Overall, 2012 was a very good year with ideal weather conditions for the vines. Spring produced great set and average rainfall lead to normal and above-normal yields. Consistently warm temperatures during the summer months without any heat spikes or major rain events allowed for longer “hang time” leading to fully ripe flavors. The grapes for Bella Luce were harvested from mid-September to mid-October.

Regular Price: $15.99
Bottle Club® Price: $8.98