Everyone is currently discussing biodynamics... but have you heard of natural farming? In a world where lunar calendars, secret preparations, and rituals define biodynamic viticulture, there exists another, quieter and more radical approach. This is the natural farming of Masanobu Fukuoka. His message is clear and straightforward: allow the land to govern itself, intervene minimally, respect its spontaneity, without chemicals, tillage, or artifices. It is a call to listen to nature, to be a companion rather than a controller, and to find harmony in the simplicity of life that emerges from the soil.
Francesco Dibenedetto understood this profoundly. The son of farmers, he grew up amidst the land and its cycles, learning to appreciate its complexity and beauty. He studied agronomy and became fascinated by the vitality of the soil. After embracing organic viticulture in his early years and exploring biodynamics, he discovered in Fukuoka's writings a paradigm that connected his entire vision: spontaneity, non-intervention, and nature's self-regulation, principles that would become the backbone of his work.
Thus was born L’Archetipo, a project that seeks to return to the very essence of viticulture. An archetype of a living and sustainable vineyard, where biodiversity and plants coexist with the vines, where man only enters to accompany what nature has already arranged, preserving the harmony and balance that time has established.
L’Archetipo Spumante Rosato Brut Susumaniello Salento is a reflection of this philosophy. It originates from a 1.8-hectare plot in clay, silt, and sandy soils, rich in humus, cultivated with 7-year-old vines. The clusters of the indigenous susumaniello variety undergo gentle pressing, 36 hours of skin maceration, and spontaneous fermentation at low temperatures using pied de cuve in stainless steel. After racking to autoclave, it undergoes secondary fermentation until all fermentable sugars are exhausted, with 5 months of aging and frequent batonnage that impart rhythm and life to the wine.
Fresh, vibrant, and effervescent, L’Archetipo Spumante Rosato Brut Susumaniello Salento serves as a reminder that greatness lies not in human intervention, but in respecting, accompanying, and celebrating the life that already resides in the earth.