The Cantina Domenico Pennacchi is part of Agricultural Company and it is situated in the municipality of Gualdo Cattaneo (Perugia), a fortified village noted for its numerous medieval castles. Infact its binomial nomenclature results from: Gualdo, the first part, has its origins in longobardic (Wald with germanic origins meaning wood or forest), the second term Cattaneo conjures up the image of the “capitanei”, meaning the vassals who, in the feudal system, administered important rural locations for the emperor.

The company owns and rents approximately 10 ha of land in the district of Colle di Fontivecchie and all of the land lies at about 400 mt. above sea level. The vineyards grow on medium weight clay soil, this type of soil is often present where great red wines are produced; all enjoy optimal exposure to the sun which permits the prevalent grape, Sagrantino, to ripen perfectly.

The winery, located below the Penacchi family home, is almost completely underground with only its northeastern side exposed to the elements; this guarantees a cool, constant temperature all year round, ideal for wine production. The company has always used glass lined cement tanks for vinification and storage, with aging taking place in french barrels. The harvest is undertaken manually, using small collecting containers, when the grapes have ripened to achieve the best balance between sugars and acidity and the optimum polyphenol extraction.

The grapes, are transported to the winery, and after destemming and gentle crushing, are gravity transferred into cement, temperature controlled, fermentation tanks. Here  they are left to macerate for varying periods, for the Sagrantino as much as 30-40 days. Thanks to the thermal inertia of the cement tanks, the long post-fermentation maceration happens at relatively high temperatures favouring the complexation of the more astringent tannins and the extraction of molecules that help enrich the structure of the wine rendering it softer, complex and full-bodied. Company uses an  ALFATEK bottling system where bottling takes place in a sterile chamber thus guaranteeing the quality and long life of its wines.