Ampeleia

The Ampeleia project began in 2002 as a dream shared by three friends. The declared goal of the triumvirate was to build a unique wine and farming project in an extraordinary place where biodiversity and terroir form the basis for the production of excellent wines.

Elisabetta Foradori is considered by many to be the uncrowned Italian wine queen. The highly respected winemaker from Trentino and her South Tyrolean friends, the entrepreneurs Thomas Widmann and Giovanni Podini, dreamed of a wine like velvet and silk, a noble drop of radiant elegance and finesse. They therefore started a project and called it Ampeleia (Greek ampelos = the vine). In 2002, the three founders acquired the vineyard that suited their ideas in the picturesque mountain village of Roccatederighi in the hinterland of the Maremma. The previous Swiss owners had run the estate with great passion since the 1960s, when French grape varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot entered the region. Under the name Fattoria di Meleta, the estate already had a good reputation in the eighties – at that time, the Maremma was not yet very well known as a wine-growing region.

Step by step, the new owners around star winemaker Elisabetta Foradori bought more land. Since the beginning, Marco Tait has been responsible for the vineyards of Ampeleia. The winemaker, supported by a hand-picked team, has been guiding the fortunes of Ampeleia for more than two decades with sovereignty and great success.

Ampeleia's vineyards and cultivation system are unique in many ways. The land lies in the middle of the Tuscan Mining UNESCO Geopark, a protected area of international geological importance, and has a wide variety of soil profiles, e.g. clay, limestone, granite, galestro, slate and sand. In the vineyards of Ampeleia di Sotto, Ampeleia di Mezzo and Ampeleia di Sopra, which are relatively far apart from each other and reach different altitudes between 200 and 600 metres, seven grape varieties are cultivated today, according to their suitability, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Sangiovese, Grenache, Carignano, Mourvèdre and Alicante Bouschet. The grape varieties must be cultivated with particular care and flexibility because of the different territorial characteristics of the plots. The Ampeleia di Sopra growing zone, which is predominantly planted with Cabernet Franc, has been cultivated biodynamically since 2009. In the foreseeable future, the other vineyards will also be completely converted to the most ecologically sustainable method of cultivation.

The two estate owners, Foradori and Podini, and winemaker Tait – Thomas Widmann left the joint venture in 2009 because of a commitment to politics – stand for wines in a clearly defined style. The fruity drops bear elegant rather than opulent features and are pleasant to drink. The top of the five-product range is an extremely high-quality blend of Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and four other grape varieties, which bears the name of the young wine house.

Nature lovers are also recommended to visit the winery. Since the mountain village of Roccatederighi is situated on a rocky massif, there is a magnificent panoramic view from the very top, ranging from high mountains with chestnut forests to grain fields and olive groves on the plain. SUPERIORE.DE

"The collaborative project is fueled by an uncompromising quest for quality, aiming for a personal, innovative style, but also trying to incorporate the terroir as much as possible."Gambero Rosso