Where the horizon
meets
the scents of wine

“ON THE ISLAND”
of GRASSAGA

A hamlet without borders

The houses of Grassaga are clustered north of San Donà di Piave: a small rural hamlet that has always lived by working the land.

It takes its name from the canal that runs alongside it, the Grassaga, an ancient little river crossed by the Via Annia near Cittanova (traces of the bridge that spanned it can still be seen there). From around 1500 to 1700 it was administered by the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, who, together with other congregations, carried out the first land reclamation works. This is a hamlet without borders, a point on the plain open in every direction, where running often means running into the wind, amid the scents of wine and water that drift in from the Piave and sometimes from the sea.

THE ESTATE,
TERRE di GRASSAGA

Just before you reach the hamlet, the Terre di Grassaga farm estate stretches out on the right. Its great farmhouse is a beautiful sight: it speaks of the solemn architecture of the land reclamations, in keeping with that of the pumping stations.

Sandra Zago acquired it in 2002 and for a decade has been restoring it with intelligence and loving care, bringing back the marks of a long and fascinating history. The entrance is graced by a vine pergola; over the threshold lies the kitchen with its flavours of old: the table is solid wood, cracked by time, the floor follows the pattern of the stones and, at the far end, imposing as an apse, stands the fogher, the great hearth, in all its beauty. The whole family used to gather around it, grandparents, parents, the older children and the little ones, telling stories that made them laugh or made them shiver, and warming themselves by the fire as they waited for a plate of polenta and renga, salted herring. The adjoining rooms now house the spacious cellar, the result of the most advanced winemaking solutions and green-building techniques, designed to help the estate’s noble wines mature at their best. The great house stands beside the old cowshed and the old granary, where silkworms were raised and grain was stored; to reach them you stroll along a panoramic terrace that will soon become the setting for pleasant conversation and quiet contemplation. Behind the building, the rows of vines stretch out…

a
BIG
FAMILY

Behind a great wine
there is always a great team.

Here, it is the big family of Sandra Zago, her daughters and her husband Angelo, together with the people who work alongside them in the vineyard and in the cellar. Each of them contributes, with dedication and meticulous care, in tune with the rhythms of the land and the cadences of time, to ensure memorable vintages, worthy of being gathered into balloon glasses brimming with the flavours and scents of life.