Tap Handle #828: Moletto Società Agricola s.s.

8/08/2024 11:04:00 AM

Tap Handle #828: Moletto Società Agricola s.s.

Tap size: 8"

Rarity: 25 or less seen, import

Mounting: 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

This Moletto tap, while diminutive in size, more than makes up for it in character. Featuring a Gondolier steering his boat through the canals of Venice, Italy, it represents the fact that the Moletto winery is located in Venice. There are two versions - red and yellow- that signify whether the tap was for red wine or white/yellow wine. The color is denoted on the box, but on the tap itself, it is the color of the Gondolier's scarf and hatband. Of the 2 versions, the red version has appeared over twice as much as the yellow, making the yellow version a bit more rare. I had purchased the yellow version back in 2016 on the secondary market, which was the first Moletto tap ever listed, but was disappointed when it showed up broken. It took a few years, but as luck would have it, I was able to nab another yellow version. I was not able to find a specific event that the tap was created for, but considering how many tastings and festivals the winery visits, it was probably used at multiple events. I have seen a total of 12 of these, with prices ranging from $95-$210, with $95 being the most recent going price, but there haven't been any listed in almost a year. It's unclear whether or not this tap is still being produced.

Moletto was founded in 1960 in Motta di Livenza (Treviso), Italy in 1960 by Mario Stival and his wife, Annamaria. Mario, who was a real estate trader, had purchased a piece of land that had once been part of the Moletto Forest, but over the years the forest had been cleared to make way for agriculture and vineyards, and only a small portion of the once-great forest remained. This cultivation of the area had allowed locals to make a decent living, so very few of them left for America, allowing for the passing down of knowledge from generation to generation. Mario began to reorganize and transform the land, cutting down trees, leveling the area, and installing a new drainage system in order to make the land, which had been abandoned for decades, fertile once again. In 1963, he began to plant vines until he had covered an area of what is today almost a hundred hectares. In 1966, floods decimated much of the crop and Mario had to start over. However, this also led Mario to embrace technology and innovation. In 1967, Mario started marketing his wine under the Moletto brand.

In 1984, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests approved the use of the Moletto geographical designation for the wines produced in this production area, thereby protecting Mario's wines by officially acknowledging the historic wine-growing importance of the region. In the 1980s, Mario and Annamarie brought their children, Mauro, Chiara and Giovanni, into the business. The 3 were able to elevate the Moletto wines, already established and appreciated locally, to an international level by giving them a quality and a “character” which has been at the heart of their success. From 1968 to 2011, the winery racked up over 460 awards and recommendations/best buys from local, national, and international competitions, fairs, and tastings, as well as Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

In 2006, Mario visited Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona and Nevada, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario. Venturing out of Moletto's "home base" in New England, Mauro's goal was to present the winery's product line to new areas and markets. In 2010, an integrated solar power system was installed on the winery roof, capable of producing 199.83 kwp of electrical power. Each year, close to 200,000 kwh of clean solar energy will be produced. And this, over twenty years of activity, means approx. 3,900,000.00 kwh of clean energy produced. In 2018, the winery achieved ISO 14001 certification, an international environmental standard that judges how Moletto respects their surrounding environment by adopting safe and efficient environmental management systems.

In 2020, the Moletto Winery celebrated its 60th anniversary on Mario's 90th birthday. As of February 2024, a 94 year old Mario was still greeting guests at the winery with passion and energy.

Traditionally entered in the national register of grape varieties as PROSECCO, Glera took on its botanical name with the Italian Decree of March 27, 2009. This action was necessary to safeguard the name Prosecco on an EC and international level, no longer as a botanical name, but as the name of a wine to be used only in official controlled designation of origin areas as a defense against imitation. It derives from an ancient local grape called Pucinum by the Romans, and the story that has been handed down starting in the 16th century following research by Volfango Lazio, is that it has its origins in the Carso Hills where there is a town of the same name (Prosecco) and a grape that is very similar called Glera. But there is no doubt that in the province of Terviso and specifically in the area of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, it found its ideal habitat starting in the mid-1700s and the refinement of the Charmat method for making sparkling wine, first developed by Dr. Antonio Carpene' in the late 1800s, brought it the praise and fame it now enjoys the world over. The grape has irregular medium-sized, round berries, and yellow-green in color that become golden-yellow when ripe. The skin is waxy and reasonably thick, and it has a succulent, acidulous pulp with a natural taste.