Lombardia
Selva Capuzza

In 2017 the Formentini family celebrated their first centenary dedicated to winemaking, a century that has seen four generations engaged on a growing path of awareness of its intrinsic meaning and responsibility. In this long time, they have done their best to leave positive traces, respecting and protecting the environment that surrounds them, with its landscape, identity, people, historical and cultural heritage.

But beside the story of a centenary successful winery there is the story of the Nation and, to some extent, of humankind. In fact, Selva Capuzza was in the center of what in 1859 was the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Italian Wars of Independence, the battle of San Martino and Solferino that counted 30,000 dead. These were hard times for the military, sent to fight in multitudes. In those days the soldiers employed in the field were so numerous that, if wounded, they were rescued after the horses, which were fewer in number and considered much more valuable. The next day, the Swiss philanthropist and entrepreneur Henry Dunant, traveling in these lands with the aim of conferring with Napoleon III for personal-family matters, found himself in this apocalyptic scenario. The horror he saw shook him to such an extent that when he returned home, he started a path that led him to develop the idea of a emergency health system based on the vision that every wounded soldier must be considered neutral and deserves help regardless of their military rank and nationality, therefore only on the basis of the urgency and severity of the injuries. In 1863, together with four other highly positioned Swiss citizens he established the International Red Cross. He also received the first Nobel prize for peace in 1901. Selva Capuzza dedicated its best red wine to the memory of this battle and of this extraordinary man.

The 30 hectares of proprietary vineyards lay in the territory of Desenzano del Garda (Brescia province), at the beginning of the morainic amphitheater facing 4 km from the shore of Lake Garda, at an altitude of about 120 meters above sea level, it is exposed to the winds coming from the Alps. The soil is calcareous-clayey, with a rich presence of stones to mitigate its compactness, in the deeper bands there are layers of gravel and sand. The property dedicates space, time and resources to protect the local biodiversity by conserving wooded areas, lakes, meadows and bushes within the estate, protecting the natural habitat in favor of native flora and fauna. Hunting is severely prohibited within the estate.

From the 6 native grapevines, Turbiana, Tuchì (the new name of local Tocai), Groppello, Marzemino, Barbera and Sangiovese, Selva Capuzza winery produces three main denominations Lugana, San Martino della Battaglia and Garda Classico that have received increasing attention from wine experts as well as from the general public. Several wines have received important prizes at a national and international level.