MARCO VIANELLO TELLS
THE STORY
OF THIS ADVENTURE
It was 2012 and that year winter hit hard in Romagna and Montefeltro. It snowed so much that, where I live, at an altitude of 1,000 metres, in Villagrande di Montecopiolo, we had over four metres of snow and were isolated for a week. It also hit hard in Sorrivoli in Romagna, at an altitude of about 400 metres, where I used to go to an old tavern frequented by elderly locals who I used to play cards with from time to time, listening, fascinated, to their tales of war and youth. This was also (and even more fantastically) where I met my wife Tiziana, who shares the adventure at Amaracmand with me today.
Spring came to melt that historic snowfall and I set off immediately to visit my fabulous storytellers. That’s how I found out the “La Centenara” winery, as it was called at the time, was in such dire straits. Due to the owner’s debts, which had been amplified by the snowfall, the banks were putting everything up for auction, including the owner’s home. So I made him an offer for the winery so that he could save his home. He accepted and so began the adventure of the Amaracmand winery. I named it after my grandmother who, every time I used to go out when I was young, would say: “Amaracmaaaand fa e breeev” – take care and be good. The intention is to leave my son Gioele something to pass on to his children, something that reminds them of that pain in the @@@ of his father.
It consisted of little more than six hectares of vineyards and a cellar that looked more like the “Have-Nots” room from “Big Brother” than a place where wine was made. My uncle, my cousin and I rolled up our sleeves, driven by our passion for this unknown world, which invaded us and fascinated us more and more, and we sorted out the vineyard, keeping what could be salvaged and planting the rest. As for the cellar itself, with various adjustments, we were ready to set off on our adventure. About six years went by and unfortunately my uncle passed away, but my passion and that of his son was strong. And that passion, along with the memory of my uncle, meant that we continued the adventure together. During those six years, the experience we had gained began to bear fruit, and this is partly due to the fact that we chose our external collaborators (particularly the oenologist and agronomist) so wisely.
Nothing ever happens
by chance…
One day, on the road home, I saw a “for sale” sign not far from the winery. I went to see what it was that was actually for sale, and as I made my way through a thicket of briars, I realised that, once it had been cleared, the piece of land would be excellent for the expansion of the vineyard and also for the new cellar. It all worked out well and this gave us another 7/8 hectares, which were declared uncontaminated, making them perfect for our natural winemaking, without hindering the work done in the old wine cellar, which had already been organic when it was established in 1985. I contacted the architect Fiorenzo Valbonesi, a famous expert in wine cellar design, who agreed to design ours as well, and so this new adventure began too. In the meantime, I found an oenologist (Maurilio Chioccia, whom I will never stop thanking) and an agronomist, Professor Paliotti from Perugia University, who joined us in our project. We also found an old Sangiovese and Albana vineyard on the newly purchased land, and this turned out to be a real asset. The winery was completed in August 2020 and in 2021 we finally started making wine as God intended!
