The Fearless Heart & the Mountain's Bubbles

The story of Cuore Impavido begins in 2019, in the municipality of Sovramonte, province of Belluno, Veneto — a mountainous region in the northeastern Italian Alps, where the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park protects one of Europe's most spectacular and biodiverse landscapes. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a range of jagged, pale peaks that rise dramatically from green valleys and alpine meadows, creating a landscape of extraordinary beauty and ecological importance. It is here, at 800 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Vallazza (2,167 meters), that Loris De Bortoli decided to plant his first vineyard — not with a traditional variety, but with Solaris, a PIWI (Pilzwiderstandsfähige or fungus-resistant) grape variety that represents a new frontier in sustainable viticulture.

Loris is not a conventional vigneron. He is a dreamer, an idealist, a man who believes that wine should be made with passion and respect, in synergy with the surrounding environment, blending human work with the existence of various insects and wild plants. His philosophy is rooted in a deep reverence for nature and a belief that the best wines come from vineyards that are allowed to coexist with the larger ecosystem — where birds sing, bees hum, and wildflowers bloom between the rows. The name "Cuore Impavido" reflects this spirit: it is a fearless heart, a heart that is not afraid to dream, to be tender, to be naive, to love without reservation. The estate's motto, drawn from Albert Einstein, captures this ethos: "Blessed are the dreamers, the idealists, the tender ones. Blessed are the naive, the people with important positions who have not lost the desire to feel like children in their soul. Blessed are those who do not give up love for fear. Blessed are the fearless hearts."

The choice of Solaris was deliberate and principled. Solaris is a PIWI variety — a class of grapes bred through interspecific hybridization to be resistant to fungal diseases such as downy mildew and powdery mildew, the two most common and destructive threats to European vineyards. Traditional viticulture relies on frequent applications of copper and sulfur — and increasingly, synthetic fungicides — to protect vines from these diseases. But PIWI varieties have natural resistance built into their genetic makeup, allowing growers to eliminate or drastically reduce the need for chemical treatments. For Loris, this was not merely a practical choice but a philosophical one: he believes in sustainable winegrowing based on natural agriculture, which implies no use of chemicals, in order to satisfy even the most sensitive palates and to protect the biodiversity that makes the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park so precious.

Today, Cuore Impavido produces a single wine — a naturally semi-sparkling white that is bottled-fermented without disgorgement, capturing the essence of the mountain, the meadow, and the fearless heart that tends the vines. The wine is listed by The Grape Reset (as part of the Ta Bìet natural wine fair), Vinievitiresistenti (the Italian PIWI wine association), and a growing network of natural wine retailers who appreciate its authenticity, its sustainability, and the genuine pleasure of a wine that is as much about the bird songs and bee music as it is about the grape. The estate is a testament to the power of dreams, the beauty of the mountain, and the enduring magic of wines that are made with care, conviction, and a deep love of the land.

At Cuore Impavido, the cellar philosophy is one of radical naturalness and artisanal simplicity — a rejection of the technological interventions, stylistic consistency, and commercial pressures that define much of modern winemaking. Loris De Bortoli's approach is guided by a single principle: let the grapes speak, let the mountain dictate, and let the wine be what it wants to be. The rhythm of work goes along with nature, from the natural fermentation to the unfiltered bottling, in order to enhance the grapes to their fullest potential. Fermentation is spontaneous — carried out by the wild yeasts that live on the grape skins and in the cellar, carrying the microbial fingerprint of the vineyard and the vintage. There are no commercial yeasts, no enzymes, no additives — just the natural, living yeasts that have evolved alongside the vines in the Dolomiti Bellunesi.

The winemaking process is deliberately low-tech and responsive to the vintage. The grapes are hand-harvested when fully mature, then a portion is vinified in white (direct-pressed, no skin contact) while the remainder undergoes a brief period of skin contact — a technique that extracts additional flavor, texture, and phenolic complexity from the thick-skinned Solaris berries without creating excessive tannin or bitterness. The two portions are then combined and fermented spontaneously in stainless steel or neutral vessels, with no temperature control, no refrigeration, no heating — the natural conditions of the cellar, which benefits from the cool, stable temperatures of the mountain, provide the ideal environment for slow, natural fermentation. The wine is not filtered, not fined, and no clarification agents are used — the natural settling of the lees and the cold winter temperatures provide all the clarification that is needed. Sulfur is kept to an absolute minimum or not used at all — when applied, it is only at the lowest necessary levels to ensure stability.

"Cuore Impavido" — The Semi-Sparkling White of the Mountain: The Cuore Impavido is the estate's only wine — and its most complete expression. It is a naturally semi-sparkling white wine, bottled-fermented without disgorgement, produced from 100% Solaris grapes grown on the sunny slopes of Col dei Mich at 800 meters in the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. The wine is made using a combination of white vinification (direct-pressed) and brief skin contact, fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, and then bottled before the fermentation is complete — trapping the remaining carbon dioxide in the bottle and creating a gentle, natural effervescence that is both refreshing and alive. Because the wine is not disgorged, the yeast sediment remains in the bottle, contributing to the wine's texture, complexity, and evolving character over time. In the glass, it is pale straw with a slight haze from the natural sediment. The nose is intriguing and complex: yellow-fleshed fruit, citrus, tropical nuances, and a distinct mineral, Alpine note that speaks of the mountain air and the clay-limestone soils. The palate is intense but easy to drink — medium-bodied, with crisp acidity, a gentle mousse from the natural fermentation, and a long, refreshing, mineral finish. It is a wine of immediacy and joy — fresh, vibrant, and utterly drinkable, perfect as an aperitif, with light meals, or simply as a celebration of the mountain's sparkling bubbles. Serve well chilled at 8–10°C. Drink within 1–2 years for maximum freshness and vitality. ~€15–€22 / ~$17–$25.

Artist Labels — The Spirit of Creativity: The Cuore Impavido wine is offered in two different artist labels — a playful and creative touch that reflects the estate's belief in the power of art, dreams, and individual expression. One label features a simple, hand-drawn heart with outstretched arms — a whimsical, childlike image that captures the naive, tender spirit of the estate. The other label is a vibrant, colorful abstract painting — a burst of yellow, red, and blue that evokes the sunny meadows, the mountain sunsets, and the joyful, fearless heart that defines everything Cuore Impavido does. These labels are not merely decorative; they are a statement of identity — a declaration that this wine is not a standardized product but a work of art, an expression of a specific moment, a specific place, and a specific dream. Each bottle is a unique piece, a collaboration between the vigneron and the artist, and a testament to the belief that wine, like art, should challenge, delight, and inspire.

Vessels & Ageing: Cuore Impavido works with stainless steel tanks for fermentation and brief ageing — vessels chosen for their neutrality, their ease of cleaning, and their ability to produce wines that are fresh, pure, and expressive of primary fruit without the influence of wood or oxidation. There is no oak, no barriques, no amphorae, no concrete — just clean, simple steel that allows the Solaris and the mountain to speak. The ageing period is brief, reflecting the estate's philosophy that this is a wine meant to be enjoyed young, when its freshness, fruit, and natural effervescence are at their peak. The bottled fermentation — the secondary fermentation that occurs in the bottle, trapping carbon dioxide and creating the wine's gentle sparkle — is the most important "ageing" process, transforming the still wine into a living, evolving, semi-sparkling expression of the Dolomiti Bellunesi. The result is a wine that is unmistakably Cuore Impavido: spontaneous, natural, fresh, and deeply connected to the mountain meadows, the bird songs, the bee music, and the fearless heart of Loris De Bortoli.