Visiting Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini and Tasting with Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Barbengo, Ticino, Switzerland

Picture: Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Barbengo, Ticino, Switzerland

Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini is a small and fine Ticino winery run by Anna Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini produces 4 white wines and 7 red wines at the highest level.

Pictures: Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini in Barbengo, Ticino

As part of the 2014 Digitul Wine Communications Conference in Montreux, Switzerland, I explored the wines of Ticino during a post-conference press trip. This posting is the fourth of a series of postings (see below) emanating from my visit of Ticino.

Exploring the Wines of Ticino in Ticino, the Italian Speaking Part of Switzerland
Touring (and Tasting the Wines of) Brivio Vini SA and Gialdi Vini SA in Mendrisio, Ticono, with Guido Brivio, Switzerland
Polenta and Ticino Wine at Grotto Bundi in Ticino, Switzerland
Visiting Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini and Tasting with Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Barbengo, Ticino, Switzerland
Tasting the Wines of Tamborini Carlo SA and Lunch with Valentina Tamborini, Switzerland
Touring and Tasting the Wines of Vini e Distillati Angelo Delea SA, with David Delea, Switzerland
Touring an Tasting the Wines of Agriloro SA and Diner with Owner Meinrad Perler, Switzerland
Touring and Tasting the Wines of Vinattieri Ticinesi, Switzerland
Lunch at Ristorante Montalbano in Stabio, Switzerland

Wine Producer Switzerland

Switzerland is a small wine producer with about 15 000 hectares of vineyards only. This is about 15 percent of Germany’s total winegrowing area and a bit more than 1 percent of that of Spain. Only less than 2% of the wine is exported, mainly to Germany.

Switzerland's particular situation - in between four wine-producing nations (France, Italy, Germany and Austria) and itself divided into four different areas with different languages and traditions - has resulted in an extreme diversity of its wines.

Picture: Map of Switzerland

Switzerland has an extensive range of grape varieties. Among the white grapes, the Chasselas is the most widespread. Müller-Thurgau, cultivated above all in the German speaking part of Switzerland, and Sylvaner are also popular. The main red grape varieties are Pinot Noir, which can be found in all the wine-producing regions of Switzerland, and Gamay, which predominates in the Valais; Merlot has found a second home in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, the Ticino.

Ticino

Ticino is a quite distinct winemaking zone in Switzerland, totaling 1000 hectares. The canton Ticino (and the wine region Tecino) is divided into two regions by the dividing line of the Monte Ceneri Pass: Sopraceneri in the north and Sottoceneri in the south. The Sopraceneri soils are rather stony with a full complement of silt and sand, while the Sottoceneri soils are limestone and deep, rich clays. Ticino's climate is Mediterranean.

Picture: Annette Schiller, ombiasy PR and WineTours, and Christian G.E. Schiller in Lugano

There are a total of about 3600 grape growers in Ticino and 200 or so winemakers, including a co-operative. The 200 or so winemakers range from pure negociant-type producer (who buy all the grapes the use for their wine) to winemakers that only use their own grapes for making wine. Vineyards are generally small, steep plots of between 3 ha and 6 ha and yields are at 70 hl/ha. 15 winemakers account for about 80% of the total production. The co-op produces 1 million bottles annually.

Merlot is the dominant grape variety. The Ticino Merlot ranges from easy drinking, including white, Merlots to ultra-premium Merlots that can compete with the best in the world (including Bordeaux) and cost US$50 to US$150 per bottle.

Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini

The name of the Cantina comes from 3 persons (Kopp + von der Crone + Visini) that are responsible for what the winery is today: Ueli Kopp and his wife Anna Barbara von der Crone, both agronomy graduates of the ETH Zurich, moved in 1994 to Ticino with the intention of making first class wines. They found what they were searching for (vineyards) in Gorla and Sementina and established a winery in Melide. In the beginning, the couple made only one wine (Baliño), first produced in 1995. The winemaking operation grew steadily and Ueli and Anna Barbara soon were part of the elite of Ticino winemakers.

Pictures: Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Barbengo, Ticino, Switzerland

The idyll was destroyed in 2002 when Ueli was killed in an avalanche. For Anna Barbara and their 4 children this was kind of the end of the world. Fortunately, help came from family, friends and acquaintances, and especially from Paolo Visini, a passionate winemaker colleague, who owned a small winery himself. Paolo Visini founded his winery in 1997. Since the philosophy of both was very similar, Anna Barbara and Paolo decided to work together (in 2002) and merge (in 2006) the two operations. The professional partnership led soon to a private partnership. The new building at the outskirts of Barbengo, which we visited, is family home and winery at the same time.

Pictures: Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini

Today, Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini has 8 hectares of vines in 8 different municipalities. 4 hectares are owned and 4 hectares are long-term leased: the Obino and Gorla vineyards in Castel San Pietro (near Chiasso), in Pedrinate and in Sementina (near Bellinzona), as well as vineyards surrounding the winery in Barbengo. The total annual production is around 3500 cases.

Pictures: The Vineyards of Cantina Kopp von der Crone Visini

Paolo and Barbaro work in the vineyard according to the principles of integrated production. They support biodiversity. The grapes from each vineyard are vinified separately, all in stainless steel tanks, preferably with spontaneous fermentation. All red wines age in wood.

Pictures: Christian Schiller, Annette Schiller, ombiasy PR and WineTours, Barbara von der Crone and Paolo Visini in Barbengo

See also:
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux

The Wines Barbara and Paolo Poured


MERIDIO 2012
US$ 25
IGT Svizzera Italiana
60% Merlot and 40% Chardonnay
Aged 10 months in oak barrels, of which 1/3 new and 2/3 of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th passage
Annual production: 5000 bottles


GOTA 2012
US$ 27
IGT Svizzera Italiana
100% Merlot
Aged for a year, partly in barriques and partly in large barrels of 500 liters
Annual production: 4500 bottles

TINELLO 2012
US$ 29
IGT Svizzera Italiana
Merlot 100%
Aged for a year, partly in barriques and partly in large barrels of 500 liters
Annual production: 2500 bottles

BALIN 2012
US$ 52
BALIN 2007
IGT Svizzera Italiana
Merlot 95%, Cabernet Sauvignon and Arinarnoa
Fermentation and long maceration in stainless steel tanks for a month
Aged for 18 months in new oak barrels (50%) and second passage (50%)
Annual production: from 8000 to 10000 bottles