Ordinary members

Antonio Moretti, a successful entrepreneur, remained deeply impressed during a trip to Noto in the 1990’s. Owner of several important brands, among them Tenuta Sette Ponti in Tuscany, he decided, right then and there, that this would be an ideal spot to create a new winery in Sicily. The first purchases began in the year 2000, and involved acquisitions from more from the 50 different owners of land. Thus Feudo Maccari was born, one of the new houses of major interest on the island, whose heart beats to the rhythm of Maccari. The grape variety of this area has a name and a territory, Nero d’Avola, cultivated exclusively as a bush vine, one of the oldest and most natural way of cultivating this plant. It is certainly one of the native varieties of greatest interest in Sicily, and is characterized by structure, intensity, roundness, and the longevity of its wines. These typical characteristics are to be found in all of the Feudo Maccari wines, particularly in the three most important labels which the winery produces under the guidance of winemaker Carlo Ferrini. ReNoto, a Nero d’Avola with small percentages of Syrah, is a wine for young drinking, fermented in stainless steel tanks, a medium ruby in color, rich in fresh and fruity sensations on the nose with notes of blueberries and raspberries, well structured and savory on the palate, a very inviting wine. A joyous, carefree wine, excellent for all occasions and easy-drinking, a fine match with red meat and grilled meat. ReNoto Rosé, an intriguing and versatile cherry red wine, floral and fruity on the nose with notes of pears and ripe cherries, is fresh and juicy in flavor, tasty and long. An excellent aperitif, or to accompany blue fish or white meat. Saia, 100% Nero d’Avola, is a wine of character, a deep and brilliant ruby red which alternates sensations of sweet, ripe fruit and notes of spices, balanced and harmonious on the palate, very long and sustained. Explosively fruity and very supple, it is a wine which is very representative of its territory, a true paragon of its zone.

The Grattamacco estate, located in a privileged position on the hills of Bolgheri in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, was founded in 1977. Today led by the Tipa-Bertarelli family (Claudio Tipa is the uncle of Ernesto Bertarelli, the owner of Alinghi – the sailing team that won twice the America’s Cup), Today, the Grattamacco estate counts 80 hectares, 29 of which are vineyards, 4 of which are olive groves, surrounded by a vast woodland that moderates the Tyrrhenian sea’s winds, for a drying effect that allows the estate to work sustainably. As a matter of fact, in 1997 Grattamacco was the very first estate in Bolgheri that certified organic.
The Grattamacco Rosso (Bolgheri Superiore DOC), an icon of the area with the first vintage produced in 1982, goes beyond the typical Super Tuscan of the area maintaining its Tuscan roots with the presence of Sangiovese in the blend together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
A dry climate thanks to the influence of sea breezes, with thermal excursions between days and nights, allow our grapes to reach always a perfect maturation maintaining the correct acidity (freshness) and develop the wine’s sweet tannins and a savory edge.
Interesting to know that the estate was the first to plant Vermentino in Bolgheri with the oldest vineyard from 1986 and still fully in production —a varietal followed by many in Bolgheri.
For the production of Grattamacco Rosso, the grapes are hand harvested and spontaneously fermented by the winemaker Luca Marrone in 7hl open conical oak vats with very long macerations. The wines are then aged in French oak barriques, from the new to the second passage.
Under the Tipa-Bertarelli family, a single vineyard was planted in 2004, located on the plain with a terroir mix of silt and red sandy soils. A typical Bordeaux Left Bank blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot grown in an ancestral exagon pattern called “settonce” and trained them alberello or head-pruning, hence the wine’s name, L’Alberello.
The Tipa-Bertarelli family started their wine project in 1999 with the acquisition of the Colle Massari castle in the Montecucco DOC, located about an hour away from Bolgheri.
Colle Massari vineyards are located at 300 meters above sea level, with the influence of Montalcino and Monte Amiata – an extinct volcano, but 30 Km closer to the Tyrrhenian Sea. That maritime influence allows us to also grow Vermentino achieving a mineral and aromatic character, while Sangiovese share Montalcino’s boldness, but with softer tannins and darker fruit and a unique balsamic note.

Molino di Grace: it might almost be considered a fairy tale, instead it is the name of a winery in Panzano in Chianti. It is named for an American entrepreneur, Frank Grace, who lives between San Francisco and London and because, next to the cellars of the estate, there is a 19th century mill (“Molino” in Italian). There have been vineyards in this spot for 350 years, but when Grace purchased the property in 1995 the winery did not exist: the grapes were sold to local producers. Grace is in Panzano, where he owns over 130 acres of land, vineyards, and woods, as often as he can, but he would never have embarked on the adventure of becoming a producer of wine had he not been able to count on the aid of Gerhard Hirmer, a German banker who, at 40 years of age, left the world of finance to live in Chianti, where he has put to good use his passion and culture, his love of wine, taking care of his own vineyards and helping other non-Italians to become producers. With his assistance, Grace has replanted the old vineyards, planted other new ones and, using an old barn in ruinous condition, transformed it into a modern cellar which opened in 1999. In the meantime, overall vineyard acreage has been increased by regular purchases, the last of which, in March 2006, led to the acquisition of Castello di Montefioralle in Greve in Chianti. Total vineyard acreage has now reached close to 115 acres, over 100 proprietary and another 10 leased. A grand collector and patron of the arts, Frank Grace has turned Molino di Grace into a virtual open-air museum while, at the same time, achieving a reputation as producer of fine wine in almost record time. His wines are created with the precious aid and assistance of consulting winemaker Franco Bernabei: three Chianti Classico offerings and a Super Tuscan. Provocative wines: Gratius comes form the oldest vineyard of the estate, while the Chianti Classico Riserva Il Margone is the result of a manual selection of the finest grapes to be used for this Riserva. Both are, proudly, 100% Sangiovese. And they are wines produced and bottled using biological material, compatible with the environment, both in the vineyards and in the cellar.

By far the most significant wine of Le Ragose is the Amarone Marta Galli: it bears the name of the founder of the house. It is an uncommon wine because she was an uncommon woman. It was precisely the 77 acres of Le Ragose, purchased in 1969 on the hillsides of the Valpolicella, in the historic area of the township of Negrar, which changed the life of Marta Bortoletto. Married quite young, at 18 years of age, to oenologist Arnaldo Galli, up until then she had been a housewife with four children to raise, Sandra, Marina, Paolo, and Marco. The property was bought for weekends, but it would have been a shame to let its vineyards, uncultivated for eight years, go to seed. And so, while they cultivated the sole vineyard still producing grapes, le Sassine, a mere five acres, the Galli family began the work of restoring the vineyards to productive life and, as a direct consequence, of producing and marketing wine. Marta Galli found herself with the responsibility of a viticultural property to run: her husband, to be sure, took care of the cellar, but all the rest was her responsibility and she was forced to become an entrepreneur. The press, however, was the wine press: she was one of the first female producers in Italy and had chosen, together with her husband, to privilege quality over quantity. The Galli have always believe in this creed, using only the grapes of their own vineyards for their wines.
And if they had a Cabernet Sauvignon in their line, which testified to a certain open-mindedness, they were also among the few in the Valpolicella who had preserved in their vineyards certain minor native grape varieties of their zone: Pelara and Forselina, Dindarella and Negrara, Cagnara and Tirodola, Oseleta. Le Ragose today is an estate with almost 50 acres of vineyards, producing approximately 150,000 bottles per year. The second generation is now in charge: Paolo, with a degree in economics, has substituted his mother; Marco, with a degree in agronomy with a thesis on oenology, has substituted his father in the cellar. It is they who have added alongside the traditional Amarone Le Ragose, the unusual Amarone Marta Galli, fruit of their research. Faithful to tradition, they have not abandoned the pergolas in the vineyards or the Slavonian oak casks in the cellar; they are willing to adopt new cultivation and fermentation techniques, but only after experimentation. Only one principle remains sacred: “the quality of a wine is inseparable from its place of origin and from the people who produce it”.

In his book “The Village of Barolo”, canon Domenico Massé wrote, as clearly and unambiguously as possible: “the creation of the type of wine which is now called Barolo must be credited to various Marquis of the Falletti family of Barolo, who produced the wine with every exacting care and attention in their extensive properties in and around Barolo”. Since the year 1929 the Marchesi di Barolo firm has belonged to the Abbona family, now in its third generation of active control of operations in the person of Ernesto Abbona and his wife Annamaria. The grand crus of the house are produced by giving the maximum attention to the matching of the various grapes which are cultivated to the proper sites, those with the most suitable soil and exposure. The objective is to bring out all of the personality and quality of the traditional varieties of Piedmont and the territory in which they are cultivated in order to magnify their unique and inimitable character. The goal is wines of great aromatic purity along with the proper balance of structure and elegance, Nebbiolo of maximum complexity and pleasure to drink.
Various wines are produced, from Dolcetto and Moscato to Freisa and Barbaresco. But the most prestigious selections are the various Barolo crus. This is confirmed by the Barolo from the Cannubi vineyard, the cellar’s most representative wine. The grapes which are utilized come exclusively from the hillsides of Cannubi, a long, slowly rising hill, a site of exceptional completeness where the two major geological formations of the zone, the Helvetian and the Tortonian, meet and mingle. The fermentation begins with a soft pressing of the hand-picked grapes followed by de-stemming and fermentation – in temperature-controlled tanks – at peak temperatures of 30-32° centigrade (86-90° Fahrenheit). The grapes macerate on their skins for ten days during the fermentation and are run off their skins when fermentation is completed. One part of the wine is aged in 3000-3500 liter casks of Slavonian and French oak. Another part ages in 60 gallon, medium-toasted French oak barrels for a period of twelve months. At the end of the aging process the wine is assembled and then aged for a final period of twelve months in bottle before commercial release. A full ruby in color, the wine offers intense aromas of roses, vanilla, liquorice, toasted oak and tobacco. Full and elegant on the palate, ample in body and austere, its flavors recall the aromas first perceived on the nose. The notes of spice and toasted oak are most pleasurably fused and integrated with the character of the wine, which is well suited for lengthy aging and can last as long as 25-30 years.

Elenora Rossi and Marco Casolanetti are the young proprietors of Oasi degli Angeli in Cupra Marittima (Ascoli Piceno). Since the very beginning they have been covered with prizes and recognition for their wines. This is not a minor consideration. There is a reason for the extraordinary attention lavished upon them by the wine press. With no significant viticultural and oenological tradition to work with, they have followed a singular, but far-sighted, production philosophy: one sole wine, Kurni, a Montepulciano from a more than forty year old vineyard of bush wines cultivated according to the tenets of bio-dynamic agriculture. The vine density is of record level, 10-15,000 per hectare, and yields per vine are at the minimal level of 250 grams per plant. The wine, in short, is absolutely unique for natural power and concentration, capable of surviving a double challenge with oak without fear of being dominated. After a lengthy period of skin contact in stainless steel tanks (40 days), the wine goes into new small oak barrels for nine months, after which it is then racked into another set of new barrels for a further period of nine months. Production is minimal. The quality of the wine is immediate obvious when tasted. It is an impenetrable ruby red with notes of eggplant purple, opulent and impressive. It is explosive on the nose, of great impact, with formidably intense aromas of cherries under spirits and blackberries, berry fruit, and a crescendo of sensations which include underbrush, tobacco, mocha, and leather. Rich and dense on the palate, with a superior balance between tannins and acidity, it has an overflowing fullness, tasty and vigorous, immensely long and with a finish of coffee, berries, and leather. For temperament and character this is a wine which fully deserves a place in a category defined by writer Luigi Veronelli as wines for sipping and meditation. To drink in perfect solitude. At the table, nonetheless, it is an excellent accompaniment to game and aged cheese.

The Orsolani cellars are at San Giorgio Canavese, in the heart of the Erbaluce di Caluso production zone. The firm was founded in 1894, when Giovanni Orsolani, with his wife Domenica, decided to return from the USA, driven by a certain nostalgia for his birthplace. The great-great-grandparents of the current owner opened a restaurant, the Locanda Aurora, Domenica worked in the kitchen while Giorgio took care of the vineyards and cellar to produce wine for the customers. The wine had success and the cellar expanded, to the point that the following generation decided to dedicate its efforts to wine on a fulltime basis. Gian Francesco, the father of the current owner, Gian Luigi, revolutionized Erbaluce production in the 1960’s, dedicating much time to the ripening and fermentation of the grapes. The decisive commitment to Erbaluce came in 1967 when the wine obtained appellation status. The result of these efforts, based entirely on the search for higher quality, brought the Orsolani cellars a dominant position over the past thirty years. Beginning in 1968, with the first production of sparkling wine, a true innovation at the time, the Orsolani cellars obtained DOC status for this type of wine as well. In 1985 La Rustia was born, a wine based on careful grape selection during the harvest, and demonstrated, for the first time, the possibility of using this variety for dry white wines as well. In 1988, after some years of experimentation, barriques were used for the fermentation of the dessert version of the wine in order to reduce oxidation during aging. The result is a great dessert wine, easily comparable to others – the non-aromatic type – in Italy. In 1996 with the Vignot – San Antonio and San Cristoforo – Orsolani introduced a concept of cru not based exclusively on a single grape source but also on techniques of fermentation and aging studied expressly for a precise type of wine. At the present time, Orsolani ferments solely Erbaluce from 37 acres of vineyards, producing 100,000 bottles annually. The finest wines, produced for over twenty years from an accurate grape selection in the finest zones of the township of Caluso are: Sulè Caluso Passito DOC; La Rustia Erbaluce di Caluso DOC; Cuvée Tradizione Caluso Spumante DOC, produced wiht the classic Champagne method.

Podere Poggio Scalette was born in 1991 when oenologist Vittorio Fiore and his wife Adriana Assjè di Marcorà purchased vineyard plots and a rural construction, abandoned for years, on the hill of Ruffoli between Greve in Chianti and Panzano in Chianti. The first part of the estate was expanded in 1996 with the acquisition of an adjoining property with cellars and other buildings, a purchase which brought the total property to 88 acres, 38 of which consist of vineyards. Vittorio Fiore is part of that small group of consulting winemakers who are part of the Renaissance of Italian wine. Born in Bolzano, educated at San Michele all’Adige and Conegliano, two of Italy’s finest oenological institutes, he was secretary of the association of Italian oenologists before understanding, at the end of the 1970’s, the career of consulting winemaker in Tuscany (and elsewhere). At Poggio Scalette Fiore has concentrated the professional experience of a lifetime. Under his supervision, the estate’s activities are directed by his wife Adriana and, above all, his son Jurij, a graduate of Beaune in 1993, who is in charge of the vineyards and the cellar. The estate produces only one wine, Carbonaione, which takes its name from the plot on which the estate itself was built. Later on, a second wine was added to the line, Piantonaia, a supple, suave Merlot, well concentrated and complex, but the estate’s fame was created by the original wine, a majestic pure Sangiovese, clean and elegant, balanced and vigorous at the same time. The cru itself is a terraced hillside plot rich in calcareous clay stones with a west-southwest exposure, 1300 feet above sea level. But one of its special characteristics are the grapes: the Sangiovese of Carbonaione is not an ordinary Sangiovese, but is produced from 70 year old vines. They were grated onto American rootstock, in fact, in the years immediately following World War I, in the 1920’s: they were the first Chianti Classico vineyards to be replanted after the devastation caused by the phylloxera louse. The are among the rare existing examples of the so-called Lamole clone of Sangiovese, monuments to the viticultural patrimony of Chianti Classico, once trained and pruned in the classic Gobelet system for bush vines, the oldest in the Mediteranean world.

The Colla family has a long involvement in wine. The first evidence goes back to 1703, when, in a document one hears of a certain Carlo Colla of Santo Stefano Belbo who sold, in various formats, rosé wine, red wine, and white wine. Effectively speaking, the Colla have wine in their blood. Beppe Colla, for many years, was the man behind the success of one of the major wineries of Alba. In 1994, Tino Colla and his niece Federica (but with the involvement of Beppe as well) founded Poderi Colla, headquartered at Cascina Drago, near Alba at San Rocco Seno d’Elvio, one of the loveliest and most fascinating corners of the Langhe hills: though little known, it is one of the finest crus of the zone. Poderi Colla also owns vineyards at Roncaglia in the Barbaresco appellation and at Dardi Le Rose di Monforte in the Barolo DOCG. The family continues to believe in traditional wines expressive of their territory and their vintage. Not all vintages are bottled, only ones of a certain level. Large casks are used for aging in order to refine the wine and avoid dominating it, just as local tradition prescribes, and proper respect for the tradition demands. With this uncompromising philosophy, the Barolo of the Bussia dei Dardi Le Rose has the characteristic medium garnet color with brick highlights, the tannic finesse, and the full and austere structure of a wine for long aging. The Barbaresco Roncaglie is very interesting as well, characterful, long, and persistent. The Dolcetto of Piano Balbo is fragrant and immediately pleasurable. Campo Romano is a very special wine, one of the pioneering examples of Pinot Noir in Piedmont, very fragrant with typical berry aromas. Finally, and well worth mentioning, is Bricco del Drago, the first Piedmont blend of two very different wines, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto, very unusual, supple, and perfumed.

Located in the Collio appellation, at Cormons to be precise, one of Italy’s finest zones for white wine, the Renato Keber winery represents one of the most interesting estates in the oenological panorama of Friuli. The house concentrates its energies and attention on white wines, a logical decision considering its geographical position, but its red wines are equally appreciated by critics and consumers. The vineyards extend over some 32 acres on the hillsides of Zegla Plessiva, and the grapes varieties which are cultivated, divided between the native grapes of the region and well known international varieties, are Tocai Friulano, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Renato Keber, winemaker as well as proprietor of the estate, gives equal attention to the vineyards and the cellar: his wines, clean and elegant, are an excellent expression of the typical character of the Collio appellation, a balanced compromise between tradition and innovation. His top offerings, both red and white, excellent wines which have been well received by critics both in Italy and abroad, range from the very fine Beli Grici, a Collio Bianco DOC which blends Pinot Bianco, Ribolla, Tocai, and Sauvignon, a brilliant straw yellow, floral and peachy, fresh and tasty, to the Chardonnay Riserva Grici, a wine of real personality. And to red wines such as the Merlot Riserva Grici, a Collio Rosso DOC which blends Cabernet Franc and Merlot. And if the Collio Tocai Friulano is a wine noted for its elegance, the standard bearer of the estate was and is the cru, the Tocai Riserva Zegla, independently of the dispute over whether the wine can or cannot be called by the name Tocai. A lovely straw yellow, brilliant, luminous, it is balanced in aroma, elegant, with much finesse, delicate in its sensations of almonds, wild flowers, and ripe yellow fruit. On the palate it is soft and creamy, balanced, pleasurably fresh, with long notes of yellow fruit, aromatic herbs, tasty minerals and a long finish with almonds on the aftertaste. An excellent match to barley soup, pasta and bean soup, risotto with herbs and vegetables, spring omelettes, white meat and matured cheese.