Sometimes I think about the regions I am most grateful for in the world. Regions that, had they never existed, would have made life a little more boring and certainly less delicious. No doubt Provence is up there as is the Basque region of Spain. But when it comes to Italy— Emilia-Romagna has my stomach's heart. In addition to Parmesan, Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, and Bolognese pasta (they can have their Mortadella), they are responsible for my truffle hunting dog Marcie (a Lagotto Romagnolo). This breed gets is name for the water that used to fill this area — over 3 million years ago, this region in northwest Italy was underneath the sea. It now is composed of a myriad of undulating river valleys south of the Po.

For many, Emilia-Romagna brings to mind images of electric purple, frothy Lambrusco. And it should. The best versions are a perfect compliment to the gastronomy of the place. But many forget that it’s leading red grape is Sangiovese - arguably Emilia-Romagna is even the birthplace for this grape, though Sangiovese is a variety that Ian d’Agata believes is more accurately described a "variety population” due to its prolific range of phenotypes, though likely all clones coming from the same parent stock. In this way, it might be compared to Pinot Noir, as it can shift its elocution depending on where it is grown and with which clonal material. This is all to say, Emilia-Romagna holds a different expression of Sangiovese than those of Tuscany.

Chiara Condello, a young talented winemaker from this region, has been garnering a lot of well deserved attention for her small batch, thoughtful wines of the Predappio hills. This lies in the heart of twelve designated MGA sub-areas in the Romagna Sangiovese DOC noted for its distinction for having more minerality and length in their expression. All twelve sub-areas are clustered together in the eastern hills, generally marking the space between Imola and Rimini along the A14 (see below). With slopes slouching south at about 35 degrees. MGAs constitute about 3% of all the Sangiovese produced in Emilia-Romagna.

In Predappio, where even this area can be further broken down into six distinct kinds of soil/terroir, Condello found a spot that was ideal for her - 7 hectares between the woods and olive trees from 150-300 meters in elevation. Here, she can, in her words, produce a wine that express the high potential of my land, releasing it from all the things that are not essential. The soils are magical — fossilized limestone called spungone that contains sea shells and other remnants of marine life from long before held together by conglomerate sandstone. Only 4.8 hectares are devoted to vines. She works with the Sagioveto dal Cannello Piccolo Predappio clone which gives smaller berries and thicker skin compared to what one might find down south from their esteemed neighbors.

Though from a winemaking family, anyone who knows Chiara will attest to her self-assured vision when it comes to winemaking. She strives to build a healthy vineyard using organic farming and lower use of sulphur and copper. She lets the native yeast do their thing in the cellar using open top ferments, occasionally whole clusters, and she prefers long macerations. She has confidently followed her gut and created wines that are so beautiful, even Asimov couldn’t help but give it accolades in 2020 when recommending her 2016 Romagna Sangiovese Predappio, calling it more overtly fruity than, say, a Chianti Classico. But it carries similarly dusty tannins and is nuanced and energetic.

She makes only two wines of 100% Sangiovese: the eponymous Chiara Condello ’Tre Vigne' off 4 hectares and her Reserva La Lucciole from a 0.8 ha parcel. We managed to sell out of the latter in this first week of its landing site unseen, but we have some of the normale to share! This wines sees about 15-25 days on skins then a combination of Slavonian barrel and stainless steel for fermentation and aging.

Chiara Condello's Scintillating Sangiovese from the Preddapio Hills of Emilia Romagna