A “craft” wine and a breathtaking view: the story of Mauro and his Primo Segno

You park and walk up the short stretch from the car park to the splendid terrace where one of the finest “craft wine” movements in our land of Romagna was born. Waiting for you, already seated and enjoying the breeze and the view, is Mauro Giardini — one of the mad protagonists of this story, and the man who dreamed it up with his whole lovely family.

Today Sadifruttirossi takes you to discover a dream come true, thanks to the stubbornness and immense effort the Giardini family put into “bottling” it.

Villa Venti is the story of a family who believed in a future built with their own hands. On the beautiful Romagna hills beyond the Rubicon, between Roncofreddo — a magical medieval village — and Longiano, lives this welcoming three-generation family who, with smiles and hard work, create unique wines from the land every day that perfectly describe the surrounding territory.

Everything here speaks of craftsmanship, sharing and growth, with a conscious, sustainable way of life that respects the environment. We’re in the Longiano subzone, and you really must visit Mauro Giardini’s terrace, because it’s from that breathtaking view that you begin to truly understand his wines.

The vines below shine with a green that fills your eyes and heart; the sea breeze is essential for the grapes to ripen properly, and the gentle hill opposite filters the salt without blocking the sun. The exposure is strictly east-facing, as in Burgundy. According to Mauro, it is the ideal exposure to get the best from his wines — above all from his flagship.

Sadifruttirossi wants you to discover and taste Villa Venti’s Primo Segno, a Romagna Sangiovese Superiore DOC: Villa Venti’s calling card. “Primo Segno is the estate’s first wine, the beginning of a dream, the completion of a journey — and it reminds us that in these lands the Romans’ first sign was precisely the vine,” Mauro explains.

Hold on a second — a bit of general knowledge: do you know why a Sangiovese is called “Superiore”? To earn the term, it must be made from grapes grown in a restricted production area (quality) and reach at least 12% alcohol (technique).

But back to us and to Villa Venti’s Primo Segno. In August 2003 the first Sangiovese vines were planted under the guidance of Remigio Bordini, the undisputed father of Sangiovese — so much so that one of his clones is used in this wine.

At the time, everything seemed crazy, from the planting date (August?! Are you mad?) to the training system: bush vines on a trellis, when all around was spurred cordon. At the bar in Longiano the colourful Romagna “compliments” flowed for this new farmer: “Hey, what are you planting up there, strawberries or vines?” And his friends at the bar went on: “With bush vines you’ll always be bent over. Don’t you know the fruiting branch will be 50 cm off the ground? You’re done for!”

But Remigio and Mauro knew that all that effort hid an agronomic secret that would give healthier, longer-lived vines and bunches growing evenly on the plant, with one goal: to make quality wine — a “fantastic” wine, as they’d now say at that famous bar in Longiano.

In 2008 came the first great satisfaction and confirmation they were on the right path: Tre Bicchieri for Primo Segno. It was the first time a Sangiovese Superiore — and an organic one at that — had won the award. The next year it won again, and so on. Who could stop them now…

Pulling the winemaking strings from those first harvests until 2018 was Francesco Bordini (a guru of the wine world), who together with Mauro radically broke with the way Sangiovese had been made in Romagna until then. With Primo Segno they decided to use only steel, gentler macerations and the variety on its own, intervening as little as possible — here we go again… another act of madness.

Francesco himself describes Primo Segno as “the Sangiovese that broke the sound barrier in Romagna” — and that’s exactly how it is! In its relentless search for identity, Villa Venti opened the way for the craft and modern wine movement in our lands, bringing back to light the features of a great grape that until then had often been weighed down and disguised.

As you’ll have gathered, Sadifruttirossi likes to ask producers to tell their story through one of their wines. With Primo Segno we’ve told you the story of Mauro and those who dreamed and built this adventure with him: today 16 hectares, 8 of them vineyards, surrounded by ancient grains, forgotten fruits, woods and a biodiversity that will make you say wow!

In this valley, burdèl, temperatures swing from 19 to 36 degrees. Primo Segno perfectly interprets these mixed soils of marl, ochre clays and the remains of an ancient sea, and a land bound to winegrowing since the dawn of time. In the glass is a wine of identity that stays in your memory — a perfect calling card for Villa Venti and Mauro. This symphony is made from five Sangiovese clones, chosen wisely to express the diversity of soils on the slope, each harvested and vinified separately with spontaneous fermentation.

In particular, the 2020 we taste today includes 20% Sangiovese fermented in concrete, which gives the wine a light, fascinating spicy note of white pepper. 13.5% alcohol. Believe me: it goes down a treat.

A truly eclectic wine that slowly reveals itself on the nose with finesse and elegance, hints of red forest fruit and that spiciness you’ll find again on the palate. In the mouth it amazes with its structure and drinkability, with tannins that embrace an endless range of food pairings.

The perfect pairing for today? Buy a good bottle of Primo Segno and pair it with an excellent, easy pasta e fagioli with clams. Madness?! Of course — we must live on a little madness, and Mauro is doing it brilliantly, with great results. Take my word for it — the word of a “patacca”, as my grandfather would say: it’s fantastic! Ready? Let’s drink!