The Fondo & the Future
Ca' dei Zago is what happens when a fifth-generation winemaker decides the past was doing it right all along. Since 1924, the Zago family has cultivated 6.5 hectares of steep, sun-wrapped vines in the heart of Valdobbiadene — a zone with some of the most prized slopes in Prosecco land — without ever using herbicides or artificial fertilizers. Today, siblings Christian and Marika Zago farm biodynamically, bottle by gravity according to the lunar calendar, and produce two radically different expressions of sparkling wine: the undisgorged, unfiltered Col Fondo that their grandfather swore by, and a Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero that challenges everything the world thinks it knows about Prosecco. In a world where Prosecco is often treated like a bubbly commodity, Ca' dei Zago is a refreshing outlier: rustic, radical, and refreshingly real.
Five Generations & the Col Fondo Soul
The story of Ca' dei Zago is the story of a family that never changed course — even when the world around them did. The estate was founded in 1924 as a mixed family farm in the hamlet of San Pietro di Barbozza, at the very heart of the Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. From day one, the Zago family functioned as what we would today consider the epitome of a natural winery: the vineyards never saw herbicide or artificial fertilizer, dairy cows grazed amongst the vines contributing natural manure until 1992, and wines were bottled in spring to re-ferment spontaneously in bottle — the traditional Col Fondo method that predates the industrial Charmat process by centuries. Everything was simple, guided by the instincts of a farmer, the rhythms of the moon, and an unshakeable belief that the land knew best. This was not a philosophy adopted for marketing; it was simply how the Zagos had always lived.
When Christian Zago and his sister Marika took over in 2010, they became the fifth generation of the family to make wine here. Both had studied modern enology at university, but much of what they learned was at odds with how things had always been done at home. Christian's education left him in a state of troubling doublethink — the natural ways of his ancestors versus the technical perspective instilled at school. "It got so confusing that I needed to take some time away," he explains. Three days after graduation, he flew to New Zealand, where he worked for different estates including a biodynamic one in Martinborough. It was on the plane, reading Nicolas Joly's famous book on biodynamic farming, that Christian had his revelation: "It was the first time I heard somebody else thinking like my grandfather, describing what my family always did as the right thing for soil health. The moon cycles, giving the wine the time it needs, the cow circle…" After two years abroad, including an internship with Larry McKenna at New Zealand's Escarpment vineyard, Christian returned to Ca' dei Zago in 2010 to make wine the way his grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather had — only now with the conscious intentionality of biodynamic practice.
Marika, equally trained in enology, joined her brother in the family venture, bringing her own expertise and vision to the cellar and the vineyards. Together, they represent a rare phenomenon in the wine world: siblings who have rejected the industrial path that their formal education prescribed, choosing instead to deepen and refine the traditions their family never abandoned. In 2020, they took the ultimate step in closing the circle: they fixed up the old stables and brought in Grigio Alpina cows, a traditional local heritage breed of which only a few thousand animals remain, reintroducing the cattle that had grazed their vineyards until 1992. The cows are not merely symbolic; they are functional participants in the biodynamic cycle, providing manure for compost, grazing cover crops, and restoring the mixed-farm ecology that had defined Ca' dei Zago for nearly seven decades.
Today, Ca' dei Zago stands as one of the most important and radical estates in Valdobbiadene — a name synonymous with quality Prosecco, yet one where industrial production dominates. Christian and Marika's wines are admired not just in natural wine circles but by veterans of the quality Prosecco movement, such as Primo Franco, who counts Christian among his favorite young Prosecco producers. Their portfolio — the undisgorged Col Fondo and the Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero — represents two sides of the same coin: one rustic, cloudy, and ancestral; the other precise, chiseled, and ambitious. Both are bone-dry, spontaneously fermented, unfiltered, and made without enological corrections. Both carry the message that Christian wants every bottle to convey: "sunlight, harmony, and happiness." In a world where Prosecco is often treated like a bubbly commodity, Ca' dei Zago is a refreshing outlier: rustic, radical, and refreshingly real.
"Nature is stronger than you. If you break the balance in the vineyard by trying to control it, you can't recreate it in the cellar, only temporarily coerce the wine into a fake, short-lived equilibrium."
— Christian Zago
Valdobbiadene & the Hill of Flint
Ca' dei Zago's 6.5 hectares of vineyards are located in San Pietro di Barbozza, at the edge of the Valdobbiadene DOCG appellation in the province of Treviso, Veneto — a landscape of steep, sun-wrapped hills that represents some of the most prized slopes in all of Prosecco land. The hill known as Ca' dei Zago is protected in the north by Monte Cesen and in the east by the Perlo promontory, creating an open basin of small hills exposed to the east, south, and west. This amphitheater-like geography captures sunlight throughout the day while the elevation — 250 meters for the main vineyards, 300–400 meters for the Bastia di Saccol parcel — ensures cool nights that preserve acidity and slow, even ripening. The climate is continental with alpine influences: cold winters, warm summers, and significant diurnal temperature variation that creates the tension and freshness that define great sparkling wine terroir. The vineyards are steep — half of them too steep for tractors — which means all work is done by hand, requiring up to four times the labor of the flat, mechanized vineyards where millions of liters of industrial Prosecco are born.
The soils are sandy clay with a high proportion of flint — a composition that is critical to the wines' character. The clay provides water retention and structure, the sand ensures drainage and root penetration, and the flint — siliceous rock — contributes a distinctive mineral imprint, a kind of smoky, gunflint note that gives the wines their savory complexity and age-worthiness. This is not the alluvial plain of the Piave River, where much bulk Prosecco is grown; this is hillside terroir, where the vines must struggle against gravity and rocky soils to produce fruit of concentration and character. The flint content is particularly high in the Bastia di Saccol vineyard, a 2-hectare single parcel with old, complanted vines planted nearly 80 years ago, located right next to the famous Cartizze cru — the most celebrated vineyard area in all of Valdobbiadene. It is from Bastia that Christian sources the grapes for his Metodo Classico, a wine that showcases the unique terroir of this elevated, flint-rich site.
Farming at Ca' dei Zago is practicing biodynamic, building on a foundation of organic agriculture that has been in place since 1924. No herbicides have ever been used. No artificial fertilizers have ever been applied — only cow manure, compost made from vineyard materials, and biodynamic preparations. Christian rigorously follows biodynamic principles: composting, cover cropping, lunar cycles for bottling and racking, and a holistic view of the farm as a self-sustaining organism. The cover crop is verdant and omnipresent, cut and fed to the Grigio Alpina cows in exchange for manure, creating a closed nutrient loop. Christian is also working with a local beekeeper to introduce beehives, further promoting biodiversity. The vines are mostly from old rootstock and Christian's own massal selection, nursed right next to the family house — a living archive of genetic diversity that includes not just Glera but the historic blending varieties Verdiso, Perera, and Bianchetta Trevigiana, which together create the complex, multi-dimensional character that defines traditional Valdobbiadene wine.
The grape varieties reflect both the DOCG regulations and Christian's commitment to historical authenticity. Glera is the backbone — the variety formerly known as Prosecco, now renamed to protect the geographic indication — representing at least 85% of each blend according to DOCG laws. But Christian does not stop at Glera. He cultivates small amounts of Verdiso, Perera, and Bianchetta Trevigiana, old local varieties that were traditionally blended with Glera to add acidity, structure, and aromatic complexity. These varieties come from Christian's own massal selection and old vines up to 90 years of age, with an average vine age of 50 years. The complanted vineyards — where multiple varieties grow together in the same parcel — create a natural field blend that is harvested and vinified together, a practice that dates back centuries in Valdobbiadene and that Christian preserves as a living link to the past. Together, these varieties and this farming approach produce grapes of remarkable purity, minerality, and natural acidity — the essential raw material for sparkling wines that need no dosage, no correction, and no disguise.
San Pietro di Barbozza, heart of Valdobbiadene DOCG, province of Treviso, Veneto. Hill protected by Monte Cesen (north) and Perlo promontory (east), creating open basin of small hills exposed east, south, and west. Altitude: 250m (main vineyards), 300–400m (Bastia di Saccol). Steep slopes — half too steep for tractors, requiring 4x more labor than flat vineyards. Continental climate with alpine influences. Cold winters, warm summers, significant diurnal variation. Cool nights preserve acidity; sunny days drive phenolic maturity. Proximity to Cartizze cru — most celebrated vineyard area in Valdobbiadene. True hillside terroir vs. alluvial plains of bulk Prosecco production.
Sandy clay soils with high proportion of flint (siliceous rock). Clay provides water retention and structure. Sand ensures drainage and root penetration. Flint contributes distinctive mineral imprint — smoky, gunflint note, savory complexity, age-worthiness. Bastia di Saccol: particularly high flint content, 2-hectare single parcel with old complanted vines. Soils imprint wines with tension, minerality, and the ability to age — unlike the flat, fertile plains where industrial Prosecco dominates. The struggle against rocky soils produces fruit of concentration and character.
Never used herbicides or artificial fertilizers since 1924. Only cow manure, homemade compost, and biodynamic preparations. Cover crops fed to Grigio Alpina cows in exchange for manure — closed nutrient loop. Beehives introduced for biodiversity. Lunar calendar for bottling and racking. Vineyard materials composted on-site. Massal selection from old rootstock nursed next to family house. Christian's grandfather stubbornly stuck to old ways when stainless steel and machines took over in the 1980s — "when the machine replaces the hand, the quality of the wine goes down." Holistic farm as self-sustaining organism.
Glera — backbone, formerly known as Prosecco, at least 85% of each blend per DOCG laws. Verdiso — adds acidity and structure. Perera — contributes aromatic complexity. Bianchetta Trevigiana — provides freshness and finesse. All from old vines: up to 90 years, average 50 years. Christian's own massal selection. Complanted vineyards — multiple varieties growing together, harvested and vinified as field blend. Living link to centuries of Valdobbiadene tradition. Varieties chosen for ability to create complex, multi-dimensional sparkling wine without dosage or correction.
Spontaneous Fermentation & Lunar Gravity
At Ca' dei Zago, the cellar philosophy is one of radical simplicity and ancestral respect — a rejection of the high-tech, industrial approach that has come to define modern Prosecco production. Christian and Marika work in an underground cellar where grapes move only by gravity, eliminating the need for pumps that could damage the delicate Glera berries. The concrete tanks — cast in the 1970s and still in use, alongside sleek modern oval vessels — are preferred over stainless steel because, as Christian explains, "I like concrete for fermentation because it is stable temperature-wise and less hermetic. I don't enjoy the reductive character that inox imparts on wine." Even the few stainless steel tanks on the property serve a humbler purpose: they collect rainwater that Christian mixes into vineyard preparations, saving natural resources and closing another loop in the farm's ecology.
The winemaking process is defined by delicacy, patience, and the lunar calendar. Grapes are harvested by hand into small crates, then carefully selected and destemmed on a sorting table. After crushing, the must is transferred by gravity flow to cement tanks. A short maceration with skins — typically 2 days, with occasional pumping over and punching down — is carried out to endow the nascent wine with yeast, enzymes, and tannins that help natural clarification. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation occur spontaneously, with no commercial yeasts, no temperature control, and no enological corrections. The wine rests over winter, racked only when necessary, always during a waning third-quarter moon — just as Christian's grandfather taught him. "You don't need filtration when you do good work and use long-time experience," Christian laughs. "I carefully rack the wine 3 times, always at the descending moon." Clarification, tartaric stabilization, and protein stabilization all occur naturally — no fining, no filtration, no refrigeration.
"Col Fondo" — The Undisgorged Ancestral Prosecco: The Ca' dei Zago Col Fondo is the estate's foundational wine — a pure expression of traditional Valdobbiadene sparkling wine made the way it was before the Charmat method and industrial Prosecco existed. In spring, with the first waxing first-quarter moon of March and April, the wines from the previous fall's harvest are bottled using gravity flow. The second fermentation occurs spontaneously in the bottle, generating gentle fizz and leaving sediment — the "fondo" — at the bottom. The bottles spend a further 3 months stored horizontally so that "the wine gains further harmony through this contact with the cork and oxygen: it has to make friends with the cork," as the family says. No disgorgement. The wine is released under crown cap, which Christian prefers to natural cork because "if the wine touches the cork during the secondary fermentation, you have cork influence, and I don't like it." Total sulfur rarely exceeds 40ppm. In the glass, it is slightly hazy, pale straw with fine, frothy bubbles. The nose offers citrus, honeysuckle, wet stone, and a distinct flinty minerality. The palate is light and refreshing, with lively acidity, purity, precision, and only 11% alcohol. The perfect embodiment of Italian aperitivo culture — yet a wine of genuine terroir and serious craft. Alcohol: ~11% vol. Residual sugar: ~0.8 g/l. Total acidity: ~4.5 g/l. Total SO2: ~20–74 mg/l (vintage dependent). Serve well chilled at 6–8°C. Drink within 1–3 years for maximum freshness, though older vintages develop fascinating complexity. ~€18–€25 / ~$20–$28.
"Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero" — The Chiselled Elevation: The Ca' dei Zago Metodo Classico is Christian's challenge, his dream — a pure expression of Prosecco that can last with time, made using the traditional Champagne method rather than the ancestral Col Fondo approach. Sourced from the Bastia di Saccol vineyard — a 2-hectare single parcel at 300–400 meters with 50+ year old complanted vines on clay-limestone soils with siliceous parts, right next to the famous Cartizze cru — this wine represents the most elevated and mineral-driven terroir of the estate. The grapes undergo the same gentle handling: hand harvest, sorting table, destemming, gravity flow to cement tanks, 2-day skin maceration, spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. In spring, the wine is bottled with liqueur de tirage for secondary fermentation, then stored for 14–18 months in pupitres with Marika regularly turning them all by hand. The wine is then disgorged and topped up using zero dosage — no sweetened liqueur, only the same wine. The result is light but with beautiful tension, lively acidity, and pleasant mineral notes: a touch of class. The fine mineral notes, raciness, and delicate tiny bubbles show that this method — however untraditional for Prosecco — is useful for showcasing terroir. It is more delicate and subtler than the Col Fondo, with less influence from the lees, offering a clean expression that can age and evolve. Alcohol: ~11% vol. Serve well chilled at 6–8°C. Ages well for 3–7 years. ~€25–€35 / ~$28–$38.
Vessels & Ageing: Ca' dei Zago works primarily with concrete tanks for fermentation — both the shiny cast-concrete vats from the 1970s and modern oval-shaped vessels. Concrete is preferred for its thermal stability and breathability; it avoids the reductive character that stainless steel can impart. The cellar is entirely underground, allowing gravity-fed movement of grapes and must. No high-tech equipment, no temperature control systems, no filtration apparatus. The Col Fondo wines age briefly on their lees in bottle, undisgorged, gaining texture and complexity from the sediment. The Metodo Classico ages for 14–18 months on the lees in pupitres, developing the bready, toasty complexity that defines great traditional-method sparkling wine. All ageing is passive, natural, and guided by the lunar calendar — racking, bottling, and disgorgement all occur at specific moon phases that Christian's grandfather established and that Christian and Marika continue to observe. The result is a portfolio that is unmistakably Ca' dei Zago: pure, radiant, mineral-driven, and deeply connected to the flint-rich hills of Valdobbiadene and the century-old biodynamic traditions of the Zago family.
"Col Fondo" — "Spontaneously Refermented in Bottle, Undisgorged, Unfiltered, with the Fondo — The Ancestral, Radical, Real Prosecco of Valdobbiadene, as the Zago Family Has Made It Since 1924"
The Ca' dei Zago Col Fondo is the estate's foundational, most representative, and most radical wine — the undisgorged, unfiltered sparkling wine that encapsulates everything Christian and Marika Zago believe about biodynamic farming, spontaneous fermentation, and the transformative power of flint-rich soils, steep hillsides, and lunar-guided gravity bottling. It is not merely a Prosecco; it is a testament to the beauty of Valdobbiadene when cultivated with century-old organic care, the courage of a fifth-generation family that refused to industrialize when the world demanded it, and the enduring magic of wines that honor the past without being imprisoned by it. The name "Col Fondo" — "with the sediment" — is a statement of identity: this is wine as it was before machines, before filtration, before the homogenization of taste.
The viticulture is biodynamic and organic — no herbicides since 1924, no artificial fertilizers ever. Christian and Marika focus on maintaining healthy vines on the flint-rich, steep slopes of San Pietro di Barbozza — creating an environment where 50 to 90-year-old complanted vines can express their full potential of citrus, honeysuckle, wet stone, and flinty minerality. The harvest is entirely manual, with careful hand-selection and destemming on a sorting table. The Glera, Verdiso, Perera, and Bianchetta are the historic varieties of Valdobbiadene, but here on the Ca' dei Zago hill they find an expression that is brighter, more mineral, more structured, and more alive than the flat-land Prosecco that floods the market.
In the cellar, the grapes are crushed and transferred by gravity to concrete tanks. A short maceration with skins — 2 days — provides the nascent wine with natural yeast, enzymes, and tannins for clarification. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation occur spontaneously — no commercial yeasts, no temperature control, no enological corrections. The wine rests over winter, racked 3 times during the waning moon, naturally clarifying without fining or filtration. In spring, with the first waxing quarter moon of March and April, the wine is bottled by gravity flow. The second fermentation occurs spontaneously in the bottle, creating gentle fizz and leaving the "fondo" — the sediment of yeast and grape particles — at the bottom. The bottles rest horizontally for 3 months so the wine "makes friends with the cork." No disgorgement. Crown cap closure to avoid cork influence. Total sulfur rarely exceeds 40ppm.
In the glass, it is slightly hazy, pale straw with fine, frothy bubbles — alive, unfiltered, authentic. The nose is light yet complex: citrus, honeysuckle, wet stone, and a distinct flinty, smoky mineral note that speaks of the siliceous soils and the steep hillside exposure. There are hints of green apple, white flowers, and a subtle breadiness from the lees. The palate is light and refreshing, with lively acidity, purity, precision, and only 11% alcohol — yet a wine of genuine substance and length. The finish is mineral, savory, and long, leaving a memory of the Valdobbiadene hills and the Zago family's century of uncompromising craft. It is a wine of great personality — a wine that proves that when Glera and its historic companions are grown biodynamically on flint-rich slopes, harvested with care, and made with honest, ancestral methods, the result is a sparkling wine of both immediate pleasure and profound authenticity, of both aperitivo ease and genuine terroir expression.
The Col Fondo is a wine of the table and the moment — it pairs beautifully with cicchetti, seafood, light pasta, or simply with good conversation as the afternoon light filters through the vines of San Pietro di Barbozza. In Valdobbiadene, it is often stored standing upright, then decanted into a pitcher, reserving the last bit of sediment-rich wine to be tasted separately — a ritual that honors the "fondo" as the soul of the wine. Serve well chilled at 6–8°C. It will reward careful drinking, developing more bread crust, dried fruit, and mineral complexity over 1–3 years. Every bottle is a testament to the power of family tradition, the beauty of biodynamic farming, and the enduring magic of wines that honor the earth, the moon, and the humble sediment that industrial Prosecco has tried to erase. ~€18–€25 / ~$20–$28.
The Ca' dei Zago Range
Christian and Marika Zago produce approximately 45,000 bottles annually from 6.5 hectares of biodynamic vineyards in San Pietro di Barbozza, Valdobbiadene DOCG. All wines are estate-grown, hand-harvested in small crates, carefully selected and destemmed on a sorting table, and made with spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks. No commercial yeasts, no temperature control, no fining, no filtration, no refrigeration. Gravity-fed cellar. Lunar-guided bottling and racking. The portfolio includes two radically different expressions of sparkling wine: the undisgorged, unfiltered Col Fondo that re-ferments spontaneously in bottle, and the Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero that ages 14–18 months on the lees before disgorgement with zero added sugar. Both are bone-dry, mineral-driven, and deeply expressive of the flint-rich, steep hillside terroir of Valdobbiadene. These are not industrial Proseccos; they are artisanal, ancestral, and alive. Prices are approximate and in USD/EUR.
Ca' dei Zago produces approximately 45,000 bottles annually from 6.5 hectares of biodynamic vineyards in San Pietro di Barbozza, at the heart of Valdobbiadene DOCG. The estate was founded in 1924 as a mixed family farm and has never used herbicides or artificial fertilizers. Fifth-generation siblings Christian and Marika Zago farm biodynamically, bottle by gravity according to the lunar calendar, and produce two expressions of sparkling wine: the undisgorged Col Fondo (spontaneously re-fermented in bottle, unfiltered, with the sediment) and the Metodo Classico Dosaggio Zero (14–18 months on lees, disgorged with zero added sugar). All wines are made with spontaneous fermentation in concrete tanks, no fining, no filtration, no refrigeration, and minimal sulfites. The vineyards are steep, hand-worked, and planted with old vines of Glera, Verdiso, Perera, and Bianchetta. In 2020, the Zagos reintroduced Grigio Alpina cows to the estate, closing the nutrient loop that had existed until 1992. Distributed by Jenny & Francois Selections, Williams Corner Wine, Ethica Wines, and select natural wine retailers worldwide. The wines are recognized by Primo Franco and veterans of the quality Prosecco movement as among the most important and authentic in Valdobbiadene.
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