Villa Venti Sangiovese Rubicone 2019

Villa Venti is the inspiring story of an Italian winegrowing family in Emilia-Romagna that believes in a future built with their own hands. In Romagna’s gently-rolling hills, just beyond the Rubicon river, between Roncofreddo, a modest yet magical medieval village, and Longiano, a small town upon which the European Union bestowed its title of “ideal village,” lives a family of three generations that with their smiles and passionate commitment bring forth every day from their corner of earth unique, terroir-driven wines. Their everyday customs, too, spring from that same growing area: the ritual of making sfoglia pastry, the olive and cherry harvests, growing ancient grains that go into the hot ciambelle to greet the day and make their bread, the fruit in each season to make their totally natural sweet-sour savor and marmalades. Style, traditions, culture, rhythms: all exercised within the context of artisanship, of sharing, and of growth, and a way of life that is mindful, sustainable, and respectful of the environment, trees and plants, the grapevine, and man. The Giardini family believes in a philosophy of life that learns from nature, without stress, stands against waste and pollution, and in which organic principles are central and uncompromising.

Living together in the country is colorful, light-spirited, and infused with energy where children run, carefree, through the fields, grandmother tends the vegetable garden and teaches the family in her kitchen, and the adults get their hands dirty in the vineyards and wine cellar, and extend an enthusiastic welcome to “the traveler” in the agritourism. Even just sipping a glass of Villa Venti wine, by oneself, meditatively, is absorbing the energy of this family and sharing their desire to set challenges, with sacrifices and determination, in order to live better lives and grow.

These areas between the sinuously-contoured hills and the Rubicon river have always hosted a flourishing viticulture. The Romans were the first to teach this art: when they settled here they brought the vine with them. Later, in the 15th century the Venetians did the same as G. P. Ghislieri confirmed in a letter to the Pope: “It is a fertile land, particularly in wine and olive oil, which they export and especially to Venice, where these products are greatly esteemed for their quality.” G. P. Ghislieri letter to the Pope The Venetians thus began purchasing red wine and olive oil, the “product pair” par excellence from this blessed corner of Romagna.

Precisely in order to preserve, uncompromised, the expression of this particular growing locus, the Giardini family grows only grape varieties native to the area: Sangiovese, Famoso, and Centesimino. They strive every day to preserve intact that life-force that flows from the roots into the senses of those who drink the wine, conveying the genius loci and their way of crafting a distinctive wine.

APPELLATION: Rubicone Rosso IGT GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Sangiovese WINE STYLE: Rosso

FERMENTATION TANKS: Stainless steel 100HL YEASTS: Indigenous MACERATION: 18 days

MALOLACTIC: Done   AGED IN: Stainless Steel 100 HL  AGED FOR: 4 months in stainless steel

CLARIFICATION/FILTRATION: Not clarified, cardboard filter, 10 micron

TOTAL SO2: 62 ppm total at bottling ALCOHOL CONTENT: 12..5%

VINEYARD: Romagna 2003-2004 (east-south-east)  ALTITUDE: 150 m

VITICULTURE APPROACH: Certified Organic (Suolo e Salute) and Biodynamic

SOIL: Red Clay & Sand YEAR PLANTED: 2003-2004 DENSITY: 5300 vines/hectare

PICK START: September 5th TOTAL PRODUCTION: 5000 bottles    

Besides being on the Tuscan coast, Villa Venti is much farther north and at a lower elevation than the Chianti or Montalcino zones. The soils are sandy-clay (as compared to, say, the galestro of Chianti). The result yields a completely different expression of Sangiovese: fresher, lighter, and with crunchier tannins. Mauro purposefully chooses not to oak his wines but to ferment them, and then to bottle them and raise them in bottle for almost 2 years before release, all to preserve the acidity and this fresh crunchiness. Because of this, the entry level Sangiovese, the Rubicone Rosso, is often served with a slight chill in the summer to accentuate these textural components.

There is also no better dish than the griddled flatbread called piadina served alongside. Sometimes the piadina are stuffed with greens and parmesan. Sometimes the hot piadina are simply topped with transparent slices of prosciutto, whose fat melts right into the warm bread. With a cold glass of Romagnan Sangiovese, this is one of the quintessential pairings of the northern Italian beach culture.