Fattoria Zerbina

The success story of Emilia-Romagna is marked by a common thread: thanks to her conscientiousness and meticulousness, Cristina Geminiani has become a wine producer who, more than other winegrowers in the region, embodies these important characteristics. The owner of the estate, who values time, dedication, competence and courage very much, recognized the great potential of winegrowing in Romagna early on and at a time when only a few believed in success. The Fattoria Zerbina, run by her and her brother Vincenzo, is situated on the slopes of the Tuscan-Emilian Appenine in the municipality of Marzeno, in the valley of the river of the same name, just a few kilometres from Faenza. Under the leadership of its passionate brothers and sisters, the company has undoubtedly developed over the years into a top producer with a clear identity.

While Vincenzo is mainly concerned with business matters, Cristina, who holds a doctorate in agronomy, often travels on the weathered red clay soils of the vineyards newly planted since 1990. Their work at Fattoria Zerbina shows that on the hills of Faenza not only Sangiovese can produce outstanding powerful and elegant wines, but also Albana for wines with noble rot and Ancelotta as a minor addition can enrich the assortment of the house.

The fact that the siblings sometimes take unconventional paths can be seen, for example, in the fact that they planted the vineyard Il Pozzo with single vines, not in trellis but in small trees. The greatest advantage of this traditional form of education is the openness of the vine to all sides. Dessert wines are a speciality of the Romagna winery. One or the other Passito can be found again and again at tastings on the top ranks. The drops of the Fattoria Zerbina convince by an excellent price enjoyment ratio.

As far as the cellar is concerned, the Fattoria Zerbina hardly has anything particularly modern or even revolutionary to offer. The best grapes ferment partly in very large steel tanks, which allows a better, but at the same time gentle and gentle extraction of the tannins. Fermentation is also carried out in the traditional steel tank, using the technique of draining (Délestage). The owners of the estate are also convinced that cement tanks are particularly suitable for blending and refining the wines before bottling. Since 2003, selected batches of red wine have been fermented directly in barriques with manual undercutting and without temperature control. The aim is to express the specificity of the grapes and soils even better than in previous years. SUPERIORE.DE

"Vineyards in full bloom and a conscientious work on the vine and in the winery produce wines that are always among the top wines in the region in terms of quality, and which are rigorous and powerful, so to speak voluminous and always supported by a beautiful freshness due to the stylistic choices and the vocation of the region."Gambero Rosso