Maria Vittori is the winemaking project of Donna Vittori – Borgo Agricolo, a farm established in 2021 in Paliano, in the heart of Alta Ciociaria, within the historic Cesanese del Piglio DOCG area.
Donna Vittori – Borgo Agricolo includes vineyard, olive grove, woodland, crops and hospitality, while the wine production is identified by the Maria Vittori brand. Two names for a single project, born to live and tell the story of the land through farming, wine and the experiences that take shape within the estate.
The roughly 5 hectares of vineyard lie at 400 metres above sea level, on soils of red clay and sandstone. The farm is certified organic and combines organic management with some principles of biodynamic farming.
The work starts from the soil. In the vineyards green manure is grown using a mix of ten species, and the biodynamic preparations horn manure 500 and horn silica 501 are used. In winter, flocks of sheep are also hosted on the estate’s land through agreements with shepherds, helping to create a farming system in which the different activities are part of the same cycle.
The same care continues in the cellar: even what is left over from winemaking returns to the earth. The post-fermentation pomace is collected and added to the farm’s compost heap.
Harvesting is by hand and grape selection takes place directly in the vineyard. In the cellar, fermentations are exclusively spontaneous, with indigenous yeasts. No selected yeasts, enzymes or other oenological additives are used; there is no fining or filtration, and sulphur dioxide is used at the bare minimum.
White wines ferment in stainless steel, clay amphora and glass demijohns, with some skin-contact vinifications. Red wines ferment in stainless steel and age in amphora or third-use wood. Winemaking choices and ageing times are defined by observing the grapes and the course of each individual vintage.
The aim is not to reproduce the same wine every year, but to obtain recognisable wines that can express the vineyard, the territory and the differences of each harvest. Work in the cellar is seen as the natural continuation of work in the field: technique serves to preserve what the grape brings with it, without overshadowing its identity.
At the heart of the project, therefore, is the desire to build a living, coherent kind of agriculture in which wine is not an isolated product, but the result of a continuous relationship between soil, plant, animal, environment and people.
Maria Vittori shares the project of Evoluzione Naturale.
Don’t miss the chance to hear their story and taste their wines.
MARIA VITTORI
Via Cimate, 73
03018 Paliano (FR)
Tel: +39 392 220 1644
E-mail: info@donnavittori.com
Web: donnavittori.com