"My father's family was traditionally committed to grain farming and they
produced wine only for their own use. On the other hand my mother's family
owned a small winery where I learned everything I had to avoid in the
future. It was really an important experience!!! It was only during my stage
at "la Stoppa" on the "colli piacentini" that I finally had the chance of
starting to learn what I had to do. Precisely while working in "la Stoppa" I
begun loving the aging wines. I finally decided to become a grape grower as
I saw the possibility to link my tradition with my passion.

My philosophy stems from a practical farmer vision. Our life is short, we
have the chance of experiencing only one harvest per year, often in
different weather condition. That's why we can learn very slowly and I am
sure there are not short-cuts. Therefore, if we want to improve - and we
have to improve - we need to look at the grape growers generations who have
managed step by step to make wine a more and more interesting and complex
product.

As regards the way we work, our major commitment is in the vineyard. The starting point is to
plant the right grapes in the right place - which is a difficult challenge.
Secondly, the least intervention the best, which means paying daily absolute
attention to every change as far as the vineyard and the climate are
concerned. We give great importance to the timing of the harvest and to the
selection of the right grapes - 60 percent of our grapes are sold.
As regards the vinication process, we believe in very long maceration (30/40
days). The reason lies in the fact that the richest part in all fruits is in
the skin or close to it. In this way we protect our wines without adding any
chemicals (only extremely limited amounts of sulphur are used, usually less
than half the organic limit allowed). We go through long refinement
processes in big barrels in order to provide stability and complexity to the
wine. In the end we are very keen on a vinification which respects and
preserves the character of the grapes and the single harvest.

As you knows it's difficult to explain in a few lines the complexity of our
world. Please feel free to ask me further questions."

Guido Zampaglione