Among the many wineries in Franciacorta which were successful in proving the quality of the bubbles from this territory, there is the historical winery Il Mosnel, located at Camignone di Passirano. The name of this prestigious Franciacorta's winery derives from an ancient place whose name has Celtic origins and meaning “pietraia” - that is a drift of stones - which is enough to give the idea about the condition of these lands in ancient times. The territory was cleared up by Cistercians monks from the abbey of Cluny, in Burgundy, who in the village of Ridengo - near the Il Mosnel - built their magnificent abbey and introduced the cultivation of vine. Thanks to this, the place of Camignone quickly become famous for the quality of its wines, something which is proven by a document of the land registry of Brescia dated 1609, during the times of Venetian Republic, in which it is written that at Camignone «…lands are good and from which are produced excellent wines…In this context of long history and tradition, Il Mosnel winery takes its origins - still keeping in the oldest part of its structure the cellars of the 1500s - which was property of the powerful Cacciamatta family and in 1836 was acquired by the Barboglio family.

	A top view of Il Mosnel winery and its vineyards

 When Rosina Rosa Cacciamatta entered the management, she was the last descendant of the Cacciamatta di Castiglione family and who got married to Pietro Barboglio, the history of Il Mosnel has always been characterized by the key role the family's women played. The tradition of women's management continued up to the 1950s, when Emanuela Barboglio, after her father passed away and at the age of eighteen she was in charge for the management of the firm. Emanuela Barboglio, who was taught and advised by her grandmother Nina, faced the hard years of those times, when people moved from the countryside to the city and preferred a more comfortable lifestyle. Emanuela Barboglio decided to do the opposite, and from the city moved to Camignone, therefore contributing to the formation of the viticultural future of Il Mosnel. Vineyards were planted and in 1968 the winery adopted for its wines the newborn Franciacorta DOC. In recent times, Emanuela Barboglio has been joined in the management of Il Mosnel by her son Giulio Barzanò - which is in charge for technical, commercial and productive issues - and her daughter Lucia Barzanò, who is in charge for management, commercialization of wines, public and press relations.

 The complex where Il Mosnel winery is located is still made of the ancient structures of the 1500s, properly restored and adapted for the production of wine, offering an absolutely particular environment in which tradition meets the modern production technologies. The name “Il Mosnel” was used for the first time in the labels of wines produced by the winery in 1976, replacing the previous mention “azienda agricola Barzanò Barboglio”, and the winery was one of the first in this area to make use of steel tanks for the vinification of its wines, cooling systems and automatic presses. The presses used by the Il Mosnel allow the transferring of the must produced in each stage to specific steel tanks, classified according to variety and vineyard of origin. In the rooms of Il Mosnel winery, besides steel tanks, there are also casks used for the aging of wines, placed in proper rooms in which temperature and humidity are constantly controlled.

Il Mosnel Franciacorta bottles on pupitres

 Casks are made with Hungarian and French wood, coming from the Central Massive, and are mainly used for fermentation and aging, in contact with yeast, of base wines which will then become valuable Franciacorta, by giving more complexity and color stability. The Il Mosnel's philosophy production believes in the intelligent and conscious use of wood for wine making, by using casks which can also be more than ten years old, exclusively destined to wines of particular concentration and quality. On this regard, the winery scrupulously choose the best tonnellerie, with the right aging and toasting of woods, by varying aging times according to the wine to be made. Not all the wines produced by Il Mosnel are completely made in wood, in fact only three of them are completely aged in new barriques: Sulif, Passito and Pinot Noir. As for the other wines, such as Rosso Fontecolo and Franciacortas, only a part is being aged in barrique, usually of second or third passage.

 In respect to the environment, the 40 hectares of the Il Mosnel's vineyards are cultivated with productive criteria characterized by high density of vines per hectare and low grapes yields. The eight vineyards of the winery are found in lands near the winery's complex, therefore allowing a better and quick care in cultural practices as well as a scrupulous control on harvesting times. The harvesting is done by hand and grapes are put in small boxes which are quickly transferred to the cellar, therefore, after a scrupulous selection, they are pressed. The must is being fermented at a controlled temperature in oak casks or in steel tanks, according to the type of wine to be made. In springtime, after a rigorous tasting, the wines produced with Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir and coming from different vineyards, are assembled in different percentages according to the style of Franciacorta to be made, therefore the process of the refermentation in bottle begins. In the ancient rooms of the winery, bottles age for at least two years in contact with yeast, and giving back, at the end of the process, precious Franciacorta bubbles.

 Wines produced by Il Mosnel are distributed all over the Italian territory as well as in many foreign countries, including United States of America, Japan, Korea, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The activity of Il Mosnel - led by Emanuela Barboglio and her son Giulio and daughter Lucia Barzanò - besides the production of wine, has also a receptive activity capable of hosting wine lovers and guiding them to the discovery of their wines. Recently, Il Mosnel has expanded its structure by creating a specific room - built over the cellar's rooms - reserved, since 2003, to the “Quelli che il Vino…”, an activity dedicated to every wine tourist. A place where people meet one each other and can discuss about wine, a place where wine is tasted and celebrated, “Quelli che il Vino…” offers to any wine lover events of enology, sensorial tasting and enogastronomy. Among the interesting bubbles production of Il Mosnel, are particularly mentioned, for their good qualities and characteristics, Franciacorta Pas Dosé, with complex aromas and good body, and the exclusive Franciacorta Rosé Pas Dosé Millesimato Parosé.

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