At her family estate in Veneto, Northern Italy, Carolina Gatti is revolutionizing the region's wine landscape. Her approach marries rigorous oenology training with generations-old wisdom, creating wines that speak authentically of place in a region increasingly dominated by industrial production. The 5-hectare property operates as a complete ecosystem—where livestock, organic grains, and ancient vines flourish together. Her vineyards, some dating back 80 years, are meticulously tended using the rare belussera training system, demanding intensive handwork but yielding fruit of extraordinary character.

Image courtesy of Enoteca Liquida

Madeleine: What drew you specifically to natural winemaking, and how has your approach evolved since you started?

Carolina Gatti: My father has always made wine in a simple and natural way, so my approach to wine started when I was very young (6/7 years old) and it was immediately love for what I saw him do, both in the vineyard and in the cellar. From the studies in oenology, which helped me understand the path I wanted to take, a series of studies on the soil, on the microclimate and then consequently all the anthroposophical and biodynamic studies followed.

Madeleine: How do you define natural wine in your own practice, and what principles are non-negotiable for you?

Carolina Gatti: The definition of natural wine is a bit narrow for me, I think my wine is more artisanal, in the true sense of the artisan act from the vineyard to the cellar: I personally follow my 4 hectares in all the operations from pruning to harvesting, I continue to keep the ray or Bellussera training system that everyone considers obsolete but which for me is a source of biodiversity, I follow all the cellar operations from the grapes to the labeled wine, the accounting and the fairs. 

Madeleine: Have you seen the culture change around women being in the industry?

Carolina Gatti: Things have certainly changed a lot since I started in my sector: when I was at the wine school in the first year we were 3 girls, now the classes have even 12/15 and I say luckily! However, it remains a very male world, in which a woman always has to demonstrate what she can do with double the effort, and it is not uncommon for some men to look at you like a UFO when they see you in a mechanical parts shop explaining what part you need as if he were doing it :) The natural world is more lenient with us women because I believe that at the base there is a different sensitivity and also a healthier competition between male and female producers.

Madeleine: What changes would you like to see in the natural wine industry over the next decade?

Carolina Gatti: I would like us to return more to wine as a liquid and not as a label or brand, to drink more and ask for basic things. That there was more interest in the agricultural act and why one thing is done rather than another. I would like the love for the land to be transmitted more and the love for the ego less.

 

Madeleine: How do you see the role of natural winemaking in preserving and evolving Veneto’s wine culture?

Carolina Gatti: In Veneto, natural realities are being born year after year, I don't know if it's out of true passion or fashion, I know that by rediscovering old varieties there is the possibility of counteracting the advance of the Prosecco model, but we should be more united in spreading the artisan word.

FEATURED PRODUCT:

Carolina Gatti 'Ratatuja' 2022

Carolina’s sparkling wines made in the old traditions of the Veneto really shouldn’t be missed: they are sparkling made on the lees, or ‘col fondo,’ as all old bubbles in the region historically were done before all the world became Glera made in an autoclave. ‘Ratatuja’ is Carolina’s mix of many different varieties local to the area: yes, Glera, but Verduzzo, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Friulano… The result takes like orange Strawburst, lemon curd, green herbs, and zesty minerals. Bone dry, plenty of cut but also pleasure. Perfect spring wine.

SHOP THE COLLECTION: Women-Owned

Images courtesy of Carolina Gatti