Ampeleia began with a conversation over lunch in the Alps. The idea that emerged became one of coastal Tuscany's most distinctive biodynamic estates, built around Cabernet Franc and a refusal to use a single wooden barrel.
Backstory
The estate was founded in 2000 by Giovanni Podini, the Trentino winemaker Elisabetta Foradori, and Thomas Widmann. It is now led by the Podini family, with Foradori on the board and closely involved in the wines. Winemaker Marco Tait joined in 2002 at the age of 22 and has guided the estate's evolution into a fully biodynamic farm and ecosystem ever since.
The Region
Ampeleia sits at Roccatederighi in the Alta Maremma, the higher inland part of the Maremma in the province of Grosseto in southern Tuscany. The total property spans about 120 hectares, of which 35 are vineyard; the rest is woods, arable fields, and olive groves. The estate's vineyards rise through distinct elevation bands, from the warmer lower slopes up into cooler, more mineral hillside sites.
Vineyards & Farming
The vines grow on clay-rich and volcanic soils in a landscape once worked by miners. Ampeleia's first certified organic harvest came in 2012, followed by its first biodynamic harvest in 2013, and from 2012 all the biodynamic preparations and herbal teas have been produced on the estate itself.
Winemaking
A defining choice sets Ampeleia apart: no wooden barrels at all. Every wine is fermented and aged exclusively in cement, an uncompromising decision meant to keep the focus on site and grape rather than oak, and to preserve freshness and clarity of fruit.
The Wines
Cabernet Franc is the flagship, planted on about a quarter of the vineyard, alongside the revived Mediterranean variety Alicante Nero plus Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Carignano, and Alicante Bouschet, with Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Ansonica for the whites. The range runs from the everyday liter-bottle Unlitro and the Rosato di Ampeleia through varietal Alicante Nero and Cabernet Franc up to the flagship Ampeleia blend, all unmistakably savory and Mediterranean in character.
