San Patrignano
Between Rimini and San Marino, not far from the loud and lively beaches of the Adriatic Sea, lies San Patrignano. This rather unconventional village with between 1600 and 2000 inhabitants was founded in 1978 by Vincenzo Muccioli and like-minded people with the aim of offering young people in need a new future through work and vocational training.
Besides horse breeding, viticulture was one of the first successful activities in this rehabilitation project for people suffering from drug addiction. The renowned Italian œnologist and consultant Riccardo Cotarella most certainly played a decisive role in the success of the wines on the market.
Around 100 hectares on the hills of the town of Coriano are planted with Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The climate under the influence of the nearby sea and the limestone and clay-rich soils offer ideal conditions for wine-growing. Under professional management, the vineyards are lovingly maintained by the young men and women according to organic guidelines.
White wines from San Patrignano
Red wines from San Patrignano
from San Patrignano
The best Sangiovese grapes for the Avi are selected from the oldest plots. This wine is dedicated to the founder Vincenzo (a Vincenzo = Avi) and bears a different label every year, which is designed by an artist. Montepirolo is a wine from a single vineyard of the same name that grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Both wines are regularly awarded 3 Bicchieri by Gambero Rosso. Other wines include Noi, a blend of Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, whose name reflects the community (noi = we) of San Patrignano, and Vie (= the ways), a full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc. The Aulente bianco and rosso complete the range.
San Patrignano not only cultivates wine, but also has various workshops, a bakery, a cheese dairy and a large farm. The village largely operates as a self-sufficient business and also generates a considerable proportion of its necessary financial means through the sale of its products. This also includes two restaurants: the unpretentious Sp.accio and the fine dining ristorante with the evocative name Vite (vines, life). Sp.accio features a pizzeria, a lounge bar and a shop where you can buy all the products made in San Patrignano, ranging from textiles, leather goods and even furniture to vegetables, preserves, honey, various meat products and cheese. Vite, at the top of the hill of Montepirolo, with a spacious terrace and a view of the vines, offers sophisticated, imaginative cuisine and a refined service under the direction of Chef Fabio Rossi. Of course, both locations mostly serve locally grown produce.
Throughout the almost 40 years since its foundation, 26,000 young people have spent one to four years in this special place and have been able to participate free of charge in rehabilitation programmes and vocational training in more than 50 professions. Over 70% of them have managed to rekindle their faith in themselves and now lead new, healthy lives out in the world. San Patrignano is an NGO recognised by the UN. We support this impressive work with every bottle of San Patrignano that we enjoy.
www.sanpatrignano.org
www.ristorantevite.it
www.spaccio.sanpatrignano.org/it
Producer
Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden
In 2015 the two families of Zapiain and Lopez de Lacalle launched the Izar-Leku Mahastiak project (today Grupo Artadi) in Zarautz/Basque Country, with the aim of producing a table wine as well as a sparkling wine with Txakoli as the base wine. Today this sparkling wine is part of the "Viñedos Lacalle y Laorden" company - just like the premium single-vineyard wine "Viña El Pisón", though this wine comes from the Álava/Rioja region.
Weingut Nicolussi-Leck
The Kreithof, as the ancestral estate is known, is located near the idyllic Lake Caldaro in South Tyrol (Alto Adige) and has been cultivated by the Nicolussi-Leck family since 1915. Standing guard over it are the medieval ruins of Leuchtenburg Castle, which – like the estate – dates back to the 13th century and was presumably also associated with nearby Laimburg Castle in the Etsch Valley.
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.