Growing against the tide. Since we opened, back in 2016 (ten years ago!), in a small, borrowed space in Shrewsbury Market Hall, we’ve championed winegrowers working in harmony with the environment to bring life to the soil and great taste to your glass.
At first it took a bit of explaining: why sometimes our wines are a bit hazy or a little different to what you might have had before. Living wines. The antithesis of the industrial, highly processed wines found on very many shelves.
But over the years we’ve grown in confidence, the audience for what we do has grown, there are more wine producers working this way, and the wines made are tasting better than ever as vineyards mature and winemakers learn how to work with whatever the vintage produces.
Of all wines, Prosecco can be one of the most industrial. But here too there are a few growers working against the tide to produce pure and expressive wines from grapes grown on carefully tended vineyards. We’ve recently added another to our shelves, L’Antica Quercia.
Who - Claudio Francavilla, L’Antica Quercia
Where - Conegliano, Valdobiaddene, Veneto, Italy
What - Sparkling Wine - Glera
When - 2025
How - Organic / Biodynamic, whole bunch pressed, spontaneous fermentation, aged over winter on lees then refermented in spring using Martinotti (tank) method, bottled unfined, unfiltered, Vegan
Nestled in the hills of Scomigo, just north of Conegliano sits the beautiful tree laden estate of l’Antica Quercia where Claudio and his father Luigi farm 25 hectares of vineyards, olive groves, and pomegranate orchards amongst the forests on their land. The name is in honour of two ancient oak tress (Quercia) that watch over the estate. Claudio and Luigi took over in 2001 and have since converted to organic and later biodynamic practices when very few of their neighbours were working this way.
In a region perhaps associated with the industrial and technical, aiming towards consistency and value, l’Antica Quercia are redefining Prosecco, choosing meticulous farming and minimal intervention in the cellar using indigenous yeasts and with minimal use of sulphur as well as experimentation
