Meet Wine Maker Angelo De Fazio of Zitta Wines

Our Wine Making Philosophy

“My family has been making wine in the traditional way for hundreds
of years, passing the knowledge of craftsmanship down from generation
to generation.

I (that’s me pictured) learned most of the techniques of good wine
making from listening to, and watching, my father as he went quietly
about turning the gift of each vintage into fine wine. “A good wine
starts in the vineyard,” he always used to say. “There are no short-cuts.
Be patient, look after the land and take care of your vines.”
The wine making process can’t be rushed. It’s simple and natural and
takes care of itself, as long as you understand the stages it goes through.
“You only need to nurture it,” he’d say. “Don’t over-work it – the wine
needs time to rest in order to develop.”
The key is understanding the different characteristics that each
section of the vineyard will impart to the grapes growing on it and
knowing how to bring these together to achieve a desired result. Acid,
tannin and fruit characters such as blackberry, black cherry, raspberry,
black currant and mulberry are just some of the flavours which can
be found in grapes grown in different sections of the vineyard.
Differences in elevation, soil types, clone variety and micro-climates
will all influence the characteristics of each vine and therefore the wine.
In fact, absolutely everything that happens in the vineyard can ultimately
enhance the quality of the wine. Consequently, that’s where most of
the work in the creation of Zitta wines occurs.”