Chiara Condello | Emilia-Romagna

A young rising star in Italy producing special Sangiovese Piccolo wines made according to her deep commitment to organic viticulture and lo-fi winemaking. Chiara Condello is proving a popular name among Michelin restaurant lists in France with her delicate and finely perfumed wines. She grew up in the town of Predappio right near the resort and winery of Condé, owned by her father Francesco. The project under her own name, created with beautifully modern labels, is from a small parcel of land she chose from her father's estate, close to a forest where the vines are deeply rooted in calcareous-clay soil, prime for Sangiovese. Chiara is driven by a deep respect for the land and has followed the path of organic viticulture and handcrafting her wines with indigenous yeasts, gravity-fed fermentation tanks and without filtration.

Chiara in her Predappio vineyards during our visit in 2019

 

Emilia-Romagna is a region north-east Italy, sandwiched between Tuscany to the south, Lombardy and Veneto to the north. Chiara's Sangiovese vineyards total 7 hectares and are 40 years old. The soils are calcareous-clay which are rich in pliocene sandstone (marine fossils). Chiara established her label in 2015 utilising organic viticulture, with deep attention and respect for the plants and the soil including manual workings, organic fertilisation, mechanical weeding and a very low use of sulphur and copper for crop-pest control. She produces 20,000 bottles annually.

 

Emilia-Romagna region

 

 

 

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2016 Predappio Sangiovese Piccolo (arriving Spring 2019)

Variety: 100% Sangiovese
Parcels dimension: 4 ha
Plants per ha: 5500
Growing system: spur cordon
Harvest: manual
Fermentation: carried out by indigenous yeasts
Vinification: in oak cask and stainless-steel vats
Maceration: 15-25 days
Ageing: in slavonian oak cask for one year