Between Lake Caldonazzo and Lake Levico, on a donkey-back hill overlooking the western part of the Valsugana, characterized by steep slopes and flat-topped terrains, near the town of Pergine in the province of Trento, rises the lush Colle di Tenna.

The mineral-rich volcanic substrate, the North/South orientation, excellent sun exposure and favorable elevations, the ventilation from fresh air masses coming from the Marzola and Pizzo di Levico mountains, and the breeze and humidity generated by Lake Caldonazzo and Lake Levico give Colle di Tenna unique characteristics for viticulture. The wine produced on Colle di Tenna was considered prestigious not only in Trentino, but also in territories beyond the Alps, already dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On the steep slopes overlooking Lake Caldonazzo, at the end of the 19th century, the cultivation of Chardonnay grapes for bottle-fermented wine was pioneered for the first time in Italy, as had already been done in France for two hundred years. It is thanks to the insight of those innovators and the vocation of this rich and fertile land that the Italian sparkling wine tradition was born. Today, more than a century later, Trentino Metodo Classico sparkling wine enjoys international prestige.

Starting from the second half of the last century, vine cultivation on the Colle di Tenna was gradually abandoned; the steep slopes overlooking Lake Caldonazzo, once almost entirely planted with vines, are now largely covered by wild woodland.

My goal is to restore to the Colle di Tenna the prestige it historically held in the winemaking tradition. It is in this context of recovery, renewal, and enhancement of the territory that the Michele Sartori Winery project was born.