2023 Il Folicello Pét-Nat 'Il Macerato'

An organic blend of Pignoletto and Montuni from clay and limestone soils. Native yeast fermentation with two weeks of skin contact. Aged in stainless steel for six months before refermented with native yeasts in the bottle. Low sulphur additions- 20ppm. Not disgorged, fined, filtered, or dosed. 12.0% alcohol.  

Delicate and slightly savory on the nose, with orchard fruit, ripe peach and apricot, baking spice, salty herbs and just the slightest hint of yeasty funk- but overall, very clean. Light in body, clean on the palate, and really refreshing.  Try pairing alongside a chicken tagine with almonds and apricots or a sumac whole roasted cauliflower and couscous.

Antonella and Marco, the couple behind this winery, initially purchased the property in Castelfranco Emilia near Modena, in 1980 as a fun side project, to make wines for personal enjoyment and to share with friends. Today, their two daughters Federica and Irene have joined the team and the modest estate features a modern cellar designed for efficient grape vinification. Beyond wine, they have expanded their offerings to include organic jams and other grape-derived products, as well as a dedicated vinegar production facility.

When Marco and Antonella started Folicello, working organically was still extremely rare and a much tougher challenge than it is these days. In reality, their working philosophy and practice, both in the vineyard and subsequently in the cellar, go well beyond the requirements of European organic legislation and is fully and proudly natural the way we today conceive of the term. Theirs is not an approach that only aims at ticking the boxes of some EU law on organic agriculture; they are also sensitive to broader issues, such as energy consumption, water usage, and climate change.