Masottina

A name asleep in the wall

In 1946 Epifanio Dal Bianco bought five hectares of vineyard in Gorgo al Monticano, in the province of Treviso in the Veneto. On old maps the land was marked “Ai Palazzi”.

One day, while restoring the old farmhouse, an old inscription emerged from inside a wall: “Casa Masottina”. The family took the name for their winery. The great Prosecco house Masottina began with a name that had lain asleep in a wall.

The son who came back from wine school

The second generation, Adriano Dal Bianco, studied winemaking in Conegliano, home of Italy’s first school of viticulture and oenology. With his brothers he built a new winery, Terre di Ogliano, on the Ogliano hill, and grew Masottina into a serious Prosecco producer.

Adriano’s interest went beyond Prosecco. In the 1990s he planted an experimental vineyard of several white varieties and observed for years which grapes best suited these hills. His records helped the area to be recognised as the Colli di Conegliano DOCG. That vineyard is called Rizzardo.

Ogliano, the heart of Prosecco

Masottina’s Prosecco grows on the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019 — steep hills between the Alps to the north and the Adriatic to the south, where cool breezes always linger. When the “Rive” designation, for Prosecco made only from the steep hillside grapes of a single village, entered the rules in 2009, Masottina began making a Rive Prosecco named after Ogliano, where its winery stands, that same year.

Contrada Granda brings together grapes from three villages: rich fruit and complexity from Ogliano, elegant floral aromas from Solighetto and lively acidity from Rolle. The name comes from Contrada Granda, the main street of Conegliano’s old town. Via Venti Rosé, Glera with Pinot Nero for a soft pink hue, is full of rose and raspberry — Masottina at its most radiant.

A name for still wines: Ai Palazzi

As Prosecco became synonymous with Masottina, in 2018 the family created a separate brand for still wines, named after the land their grandfather first bought: Ai Palazzi. Of the family’s 370-odd hectares of vineyards, 80 are dedicated to these wines.

Two Riservas are its face. The white Rizzardo, named after a lord who ruled Treviso in the 14th century, weaves five varieties including Manzoni Bianco and Chardonnay according to each year’s vineyard conditions and is aged more than 24 months in French oak. The red Montesco is a firm blend built on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Three generations on the hill

Today Masottina is led by Adriano’s two sons: vice-president Federico looks after the vineyards and winemaking, Filippo the world markets. A family that began with the grandfather’s five hectares is still, in its third generation, gradually adding vineyards on these hills.

A name the critics noticed first

• R.D.O. Rive di Ogliano Extra Dry 2019 — Wine Spectator 2021 Top 100 (the first Rive Prosecco to be included)
• Contrada Granda Prosecco Superiore — Falstaff Prosecco Trophy 2022 92 points, The Prosecco Masters 2022 Gold
• Via Venti Prosecco Rosé 2021 — Falstaff 92 points
• Ai Palazzi Montesco — Mundus Vini 2022 Gold

A name that lay asleep in a wall has become, three generations on, a Prosecco the world seeks out.