The Canella winery, founded in 1947 by Luciano Canella, is now run by his children, Alessandra, Lorenzo, Nicoletta and Monica. Luciano Canella’s parents owned a small, family-style restaurant in San Donà di Piave (30 km – just under 19 miles – northeast of Venice) and Luciano was in charge of wine supplies. Upon discovering his interest in fine wine, he concentrated on recognising quality and increasingly specialized in enological issues. Thanks to his passion for winemaking innovations and new bottling technology, he has always been abreast of the latest developments. From the very beginning, Luciano Canella gave great importance to the image that was conveyed. His bottles boasted elegant labels and drip rings, new shapes, special designs.
In the 1980s, Canella specializes in the production of fizzy and sparkling wines – employing the finest grapes in the Piave area as well as the Prosecco of the nearby Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills – and joins the Prosecco Consortium. The Canellas’ passion for Prosecco, their trademark love of a new challenge and pioneering spirit lead them to tackle wine–and–fruit cocktails. Hence Bellini, which is soon to become a major international success.
The 1990s mark Canella’s increasing renown abroad: Canella Prosecco and Bellini embody Italian excellence and lifestyle first in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, then in the rest of Europe. In 1994, the winery’s Prosecco D.O.C is awarded the Gold Medal (“Gran Medaglia d’Oro”) at VinItaly as best Charmat method sparkling wine. In 1996, the Canellas take over another prestigious brand: Deroà. The early years of the third millennium see Bellini’s growing success and the expansion of Canella’s line of cocktails to include Rossini and Mimosa. Moreover, the Canellas plant their own peach orchards and cultivate Bellini’s scrumptious white peaches on home ground, so as to achieve 100% control over quality and freshness. Canella Prosecco and Canella cocktails travel overseas, reaching the U.S., Canada, Japan and Australia. In 2002, the world’s most feared and revered wine critic, Robert Parker, awards Canella Prosecco di Conegliano DOC a whopping 89 points (December issue of “The Wine Advocate”).
Subsequently, “Wine Enthusiast” and “The Washington Post” select Canella Prosecco as Best Buy and Editor’s Choice respectively. With the new Prosecco legislation of 2010, Canella is not only in the heart of the newborn D.O.C: its hillside Conegliano Prosecco is upgraded to D.O.C.G.
