The famous Italian winery with around 100 hectares of vineyards based in Erbusco in the east of the Lombardy region was founded in 1968 by the well-known winemaker Maurizio Zanella (born 1955). He studied at the University of Oenology in Bordeaux and at the Station Oenologique de Bourgogne in Beaune. When the vineyards were replanted in the 1970s, the famous French oenologist Émile Peynaud (born 1912) was consulted. Zanella got the cellar master André Dubois from the famous champagne house Moet et Chandon from Champagne and Brian Larky from the University of California and took over the management of the entire company. An ultra-modern winery of superlatives in terms of architecture and technical infrastructure was built. Half of the hill on which the estate is located was dug up and a star-shaped cellar was built. Its centerpiece is a seven meter high room resembling a cathedral. There is a helipad above the basement. Due to the naturally constant temperature, the catacombs, which are deep in the ground, are ideally suited for extremely long storage in barrels, barriques and bottles. Zanella produced his first spumante at the age of 17 in 1972. Together with Angelo Gaja and Giacomo Bologna, he then played a key role in the renaissance of Italian viticulture (Rinascimento enologico italiano) from the early 1980s. The flagship is the DOCG sparkling wine Franciacorta "Anna Maria Clemente", whose base wine is pressed in a hand-operated, wooden press. This white sparkling wine is produced in all common variants (Brut, Brut Vintage, Brut Dosage Zéro, Satèn) and also as a rosé. Other products are DOC wines Terre di Franciacorta in red and white with partial barrique aging. Then there are the IGT's (country wines) from French grape varieties such as the barrel-fermented Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend "Maurizio Zanella" signed by the owner, the "Pinéro" from Pinot Noir, the barrel-fermented Chardonnay, and the "Elfo". predominantly autochthonous, white grape varieties. About 650,000 bottles of wine are produced annually.
