Wines from Terroir …

Technical informations on the estate :

Size : 30 hectares of vineyard and 28 in forest

Soil : mainly clay and limon

Varieties :

• White : Malvasia di Candia Aromatico, Ortrugo, Trebbiano
• Red : Barbera, Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Appellation : Colli Piacentini

Wines produced :

• White : Ageno, long maceration white wine (from 3 months up to 1 year depending on the vintage)
• Red : Gutturnio (barbera-Bonarda), Macchiona (Barbera-Bonarda aged one year in big cask), Barbera della Stoppa (aged one year in barrels), Stoppa (Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot élevés one year in barrels)
• Doux : Vigna del Volta (passito), Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (sparkling sweet)

Work in the vineyard : Organic certification in pending, for 2010

Website address : www.lastoppa.it

Why did I choose La Stoppa ?

The estate is located in an idyllic setting, surrounded by nature in th foothills of the Apennines and dominating the Trebbia Valley. The estate, medieval in character and built in red brick, with its observation tower at the highest point, overlooks the surrounding 30 hectares of vineyards, providing the best conditions to work at the time of harvest.

I know La Stoppa well, having worked there during wine production. Elena Pantaleoni, the owner and Giulio Armani, the winemaker at La Stoppa taught me a great deal about the importance of the Terroir. Local varieties predominate : Barbera, Bonarda, Malvasia di Candia Aromatica and Ortrugo. The fermentation is natural with native yeasts and there is no enological products added during the winification process.

Fermenting times are quite long – around 30 days for red wines and between 3 months and one year for white wines AGENO – in order to extract all the important components from the grape skins : aromas, tannins, anthocyanes …which typify the wines from the region.

The quality of the wines is well known both in Italy – beautiful articles in Gambero Rosso and Slow Food – and abroad.

The organic certification is pending, starting in 2007.