Four years ago, my life changed in an instant. My name is Lorenzo Pasini, and when my father Attilio passed away suddenly, I was still a second-year enology student. Overnight, I found myself leading the family business, La Torre, here in Valtènesi. The books could wait. The vineyards could not.
I wasn't alone: Barbara was by my side
My cousin Barbara decided to take this journey with me. The generational change is complete, and together we are revolutionizing everything. But we are not starting from scratch: our father had already begun the organic conversion in 2017. We simply decided to go further.
The vineyard is not a factory: it's an ecosystem
Our approach is holistic, agroecological. What does that mean in practice? It means we consider the vineyard as a world unto itself, where the vine coexists with herbs, flowers, insects, animals. We are not the ones commanding nature – we must integrate into it.
Chemicals are taboo for us, both in the cellar and among the rows. We don't plow: we only mow, to protect life in the soil. And we don't mow everything at once – we do it in rotation, row by row, so insects always find a refuge, always something in bloom.
We nourish the soil with clover and other carefully sown herbs. And towards the end of the year, our special collaborators arrive: the sheep, which graze among the vines and complete the natural cycle.
"It looks messy, but it's actually alive"
I know what you think when you visit us: "But this vineyard is a bit wild, isn't it?"
Exactly. And that's exactly how it should be. That "disorder" is health. You can see it in the grapes, you can taste it in the glass. Each vintage, each slope produces a different, unique flavor. Our wine matures naturally for at least a year before being bottled. We are in no hurry.
Come and discover it for yourself
The best way to understand what we do is to come to Mocasina, just a few minutes from Lake Garda. Barbara will welcome you – she speaks perfect German and English – and will guide you through a tasting that is also a journey into our little natural paradise.
The enology studies? I'll finish them one day. But what I've learned in these four years, among these vines, with my hands and with Barbara by my side, I won't find in any book.
