Talento represents the excellence of sparkling Italian wines. Talento wines are obtained from Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and Pinot Bianco. These wines undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle and age for a minimum of 15 months on their lees. Residual sugar is below 12 grams per liter. These precise characteristics are the trademark of the most traditional metodo classico wines, and today are recognized and officially protected under Italian law as a specially-registered collective brand.

Talento is a category comprised of various sparkling wine regions which, all together, represent a homogeneous classification of more than 20 million bottles.

Talento is a collective brand that helps to define a product classification and a specific commodity category – all to the advantage of the final consumer.

Talento is a national legacy, and is at all Italian producers' disposal. The brand is property of the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali, which has regulated its use with an official decree that acts as a production standard, laying out the guidelines to be followed in order for a sparkling wine to be called a Talento wine.

Talento is a sparkling brut which is ideal as an aperitif or as a pairing to any meal.

How Talento Is Born

Placement of the varietals, climatic conditions and grape maturation

The production of a Talento sparkling wine begins with the selection of vineyards based on their specific geographical placement, in terms of sun exposure, altitude and soil characteristics.

These unique climatic conditions permit the growth of grapes that, at the moment of their harvesting, present a perfect balance of sugar maturation, as well as, acidic and aromatic maturity.

Following hand harvesting, the rapid transport to the winery and meticulous vinification of the grapes result in the production of musts which embody all the richness of the original grapes.

Production of the “Base Wine”: First Fermentation

The production of a Talento wine continues with the alcoholic fermentation of the musts – the first fermentation – from which the “base sparkling wine” is made. The base wines have similar characteristics in terms of acidity, alcohol level, and specific aromatic profiles relative to their origins and to the geographic placement of the original vineyards.

The Blend of the Base Wine and the Birth of the “Cuvée”

After the first alcoholic fermentation, the base wines mature for a several months in steel tanks, in order to develop their full aromatic potential. At times, a small portion of the wines can be fermented and refined in oak barriques, in order to obtain a greater aromatic complexity.

In spring, the base wines are combined according to specific enological and stylistic criteria determined by each producer to create the so-called “cuvée,” or the final blend.

Bottling of the Cuvée and Secondary Fermentation

Sugars and selected yeasts are added to the cuvee. Afterwards, the cuvée is bottled and placed horizontally in a temperature-controlled environment at 54 - 55˚F. Then, the important and delicate phase of secondary fermentation begins. This process lasts 20 - 30 days. During this time, the lees slowly transform the sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol, causing the so-called "presa di spuma". In fact, the gas, trapped in the bottle, dissolves into the wine, creating the fine bubbles that characterize a Talento wine. The quality and elegance of the final perlage depends on this very delicate process.

Maturation and Refinement on the Lees

After the secondary fermentation, when the sugars are exhausted and the lees have finished their job, they precipitate and deposit themselves on the side of the horizontal bottle.

Thus begins the aging and refinement on the lees of a Talento wine, a stage that lasts a minimum of 15 months. During this period of refinement, the Talento wine acquires aromatic and flavor complexity, enriched by the aromas developed during this precious and natural evolution of the lees.

Rotation of the Bottles: Remuage

At the end of the aging period, the bottles traditionally were placed on inclined easels – the pupitre – whose function was so essential that its stylized profile is recreated as the Talento logo. Here the bottles were periodically rotated little by little, while progressively increasing the incline angle until the bottle was in an upside-down, vertical position.

As a result, the lees, previously deposited on the side of the bottle, slowly drifted along the side of the bottle and gathered in the top of the bottle’s neck, facilitating their elimination.

This extremely laborious, traditional technique is still used in small wineries. However, for the past 20 years, large producers have been using an automated rotating palette system, the modern version of the pupitre.

Uncorking and Addition of the “House Liquer”

The final phase of the process calls for the opening of the bottle, the removal of the lees, and the addition of the “House Liquer,” the final touch that gives each producer its own unique style.

Traditionally, Talento wine is produced exclusively as a brut, which contains less than 12 grams of sugar per liter. Therefore, the wine is a dry, sparkling wine, ideal for an aperitif or for a meal pairing.

Closing and Packaging

The Talento wine is then closed with the characteristic “mushroom-shaped” cork, labeled and personalized with the producer’s insignia.

The Talento wine is now ready to be enjoyed and appreciated for all of its elegance and refinement.