Nino Franco Spumanti, Conegliano Valdobbiadene, Prosecco Superiore DOCG, Italy
Image: Primo Franco and his daughter Silvia, the third and fourth generations of the Franco family, in the Nino Franco Spumanti winery in Conegliano Valdobbiadene
Old Vines, Living Heritage, and the Future of Glera
Located in the heart of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, a landscape recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019, Nino Franco represents a deeply rooted expression of historic viticulture and a forward-looking commitment to sustainability. These steep hills, shaped by centuries of human labour, are among Italy’s most iconic wine landscapes and form the cultural and environmental context for one of the estate’s most important projects: the centenary vineyard of Col del Vent.
In addition to the 4 hectares the estate owns and farms for its three single-vineyard Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines, Nino Franco has, over the years, established long-standing, trusted relationships with a select group of growers in the area. These partnerships supply the remaining grapes required to produce approximately 850,000 bottles annually. At the estate level, Nino Franco has deliberately chosen to preserve and valorise old vineyards as living archives of genetic and cultural memory. The Col del Vent vineyard, covering 0.8 hectares, is planted with around 100-year-old Glera vines, trained in a traditional expanded, multi-arched system with wide spacing. The vines grow on clay-rich, fluvio-glacial soils typical of Valdobbiadene –San Pietro di Barbozza and are predominantly grafted onto Rupestris du Lot, with a small number of surviving own-rooted plants.
This vineyard is a rare survivor. Nearly destined for uprooting to make way for high-density plantings of commercial clones, Col del Vent was taken on by Nino Franco specifically to save a fragile but irreplaceable genetic heritage. Its true value lies in its extraordinary biodiversity: a heterogeneous population of Glera biotypes, shaped by time, environmental stress, and natural selection. Many of these phenotypic expressions have disappeared elsewhere, making the vineyard a unique reservoir of resilience and adaptability.
Since 2015, the estate has undertaken a careful restoration of Col del Vent, beginning with the work of master pruner Marco Simonit, whose interventions revitalised the old wood while respecting the vines’ contorted, sculptural forms. Inspired by the research of Professor Ruggero Osler and the concept of “immunised plants,” Nino Franco then embarked on a Massal Selection Programme in 2021, led by Dr Stefano Borselli. The focus is on identifying vines that demonstrate natural resistance, balance, and quality without reliance on external inputs, reinforcing sustainability through adaptation rather than intervention.
By 2023, the estate was able to reproduce the most resilient vines, creating new vineyard material that preserves biodiversity while strengthening the future of Glera. Today, Col del Vent functions as a living mother vineyard, supplying plant material for Nino Franco’s own sites and for growers who share this long-term vision.
Image: Nino Franco Spumanti, the Col del Vent vineyard
From this vineyard comes Nodi, a Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Brut, produced using the Charmat method. Fermented in stainless steel with extended lees ageing, the wine combines precision and depth, with floral notes of wisteria and rose, hints of pear and lime, vibrant acidity, and a subtle saline tension that speaks clearly of place.
As the estate itself reflects: “It is a privilege to transform such diverse grapes into a single-vineyard Prosecco Superiore, capable of expressing the distinctive characteristics that make each of our crus unique and inimitable.”
More than a wine, Nodi is a statement of intent. Nino Franco’s work at Col del Vent embodies the core values of the Old Vine Conference: heritage, resilience, continuity, and responsibility — demonstrating that old vines are not remnants of the past, but essential guides for the future of viticulture.
Image: Centuries-old vines in Col del Vent, showing the knots or “nodi” that lend their name to the Nodi Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
In the heart of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, Nino Franco is safeguarding one of the region’s rarest treasures: the centenary vineyard of Col del Vent.
Follow: @ninofranco1919