Behind the Josef winery, there is a passionate winemaker who, in 2014, decided to create a farm from scratch. Luca Francesconi does not come from a family of winemakers or landowners, as often happens in a world where estates are passed down from generation to generation without interruption. Instead, Luca independently and courageously decided that the path of winemaking would become his, and he invested in his work and his skills to create his own independent and autonomous reality. To start his activity, he began to look for old vineyards for rent in his area, near Ponti sul Mincio, in the province of Mantova.
The estate covers about six hectares, located on the morainic hills created in ancient geological eras by the deposits of the Alpine glaciers that have progressively retreated. These are gentle sunny slopes that enjoy a particularly mild climate, thanks to the beneficial influence of the large basin of Lake Garda. Luca Francesconi's work has been initially focused on recovering the old vineyards and then on a mass selection of the best plants present in the estate, some still on their own roots, to plant new vines, while maintaining the identity of the biotypes historically present in the area, without altering the composition of the ancient population of vines with modern clones from nurseries. A choice that has also made it possible to preserve the indigenous varieties that have always been cultivated in these lands, such as Rossanella, Negrara, Tocai di San Martino, and Rondinella.
The new vineyards created from this important mass selection work have been planted on owned land, located in the Sacro Cuore area, where the Mincio River flows out of Lake Garda, and complete the estate, which consists of other parcels located in the municipalities of Cavriana, Monzambano, and Ponti sul Mincio. The management of the vineyard is carried out in an environmentally respectful manner, following the principles of biodynamics, with mechanical mowing of the inter-row and without the use of products or chemical fertilizers. In the vineyard, only sulfur and copper are used in minimal quantities, along with horn manure, horn silica, and other natural preparations that help the vine strengthen its natural defenses. The wines are the result of equally respectful work in the winery regarding the raw material.