Les Cretes

Region: Aosta Valley

History: Originally from France, the Charrère family moved in the mid 1700s to what is now the Aosta Valley of Italy.

They started out as farmers and millers, establishing a home site and building a water powered mill on their property in Aymaville. In 1955 the Charrères planted their first two hectares of grapes, focusing on making quality wines out of the indigenous vinifera varieties grown in the Aosta Valley. In 1989 the Charrères enlarged the original estate and built the Les Crêtes winery.

The old mill and home site will soon be restored for use as an agritourism destination. Costantino Charrère, his wife Imelda, and their daughters Elena and Eleonora manage the day-to-day activities of the vineyards and winery. While making decisions based on a solid foundation of classic vineyard management and wine-making skills, they are continually integrating new and innovative ideas gathered from frequent visits to wineries and vineyards around the world. Les Crête's Vineyards: With 25 hectares (62 acres) of grapes dedicated to wine production, Les Crêtes is the largest privately held vineyard and winery operation in the Aosta Valley. The Aosta Valley, located in northwest Italy, is Italy's smallest and least populated region. It is an alpine valley with grape growing conditions typically associated with mountain elevations. Close to Mont Blanc and surrounded on three sides by the Italian, French and Swiss Alps, it is a beautiful and unique part of Italy.

Les Crêtes vineyards are planted in both indigenous vinifera varieties (Petite Arvine, Petit Rouge, Fumin, Mayolet, Cornalin), as well as the more traditional vinifera varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Muscat) which are also well adapted to the region s climate and soil conditions. Les Crêtes vineyards are located along the Aosta Valley's Dora Baltea river and are distributed among vineyard blocks in six different villages; Saint Pierre, Aymavilles, Gressan, Sarre, Aosta and Saint Christophe.Plant densities in the vineyards range from 7,000 to 8,000 vines per hectare.