Ampeleia

Ampeleia was established in 2002 on a large property in Roccatederighi, a medieval village set within the Colline Metallifere, the ancient metal-bearing hills of Alta Maremma in the Province of Grosseto. The land had been owned by the Swiss Suter family in the 1960s and was largely abandoned before the three founders acquired it. Elisabetta Foradori, already celebrated for her revival of Teroldego in Trentino-Alto Adige, joined forces with entrepreneurs Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann to create an estate committed to Mediterranean polyculture and biodynamic farming from the outset. The original six hectares were planted with Cabernet Franc and Merlot, establishing a framework that has since evolved into one of the most deliberately fragmented vineyard programs in Tuscany. Organic conversion began almost immediately, with full biodynamic certification achieved by 2009.

• Founded 2002 on land previously owned by the Swiss Suter family and abandoned since the 1960s.
• Co-founded by Elisabetta Foradori (Foradori Winery, Teroldego specialist), Giovanni Podini, and Thomas Widmann.
• Original plantings were Cabernet Franc and Merlot across six hectares; the estate now covers 120 hectares total with 35 under vine.
• Located within the Colline Metallifere, designated both a National Park and a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The estate today is led by the Podini family under Giovanni Podini's direction, while Elisabetta Foradori continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors in a strategic advisory capacity. This structure preserves the founding philosophy while allowing operational continuity through the Podini family's stewardship. At the heart of day-to-day winemaking is Marco Tait, a Trentino native whose father served as Foradori's agronomist, giving him a formative connection to the project before it began. Tait has been the sole winemaker since 2002, a tenure of more than 20 vintages that provides rare consistency across the estate's evolving single-parcel program. Recent releases, including the 2024 Vasca Dodici, a single concrete tank Cabernet Franc bottling of just 125 cases, reflect Tait's growing ambition to document individual parcels with precision.

• Giovanni Podini leads the estate; Foradori holds a Board of Directors seat and advisory role.
• Marco Tait has been sole winemaker from the 2002 inaugural vintage through the present day.
• Tait's father was Foradori's agronomist, giving him a direct personal connection to the founding team.
• The 2024 Vasca Dodici Cabernet Franc was produced from a single concrete tank in a release of only 125 cases.

Ampeleia's 35 hectares under vine are organized across three distinct farming blocks that span an elevation range of 200 to 600 meters, creating meaningfully different growing conditions within a single estate. Ampeleia di Sopra occupies 15 hectares between 450 and 600 meters and is planted primarily to Cabernet Franc. Ampeleia di Mezzo, at 250 to 350 meters across 10 hectares, is home to Sangiovese, Carignan, Grenache, and Alicante Bouschet. Ampeleia di Sotto at 200 meters covers another 10 hectares focused on Mediterranean varieties including Grenache and Alicante Nero. Individual named parcels, among them Vigna della Pieve, Brunero, La Rocca, Cannucceto, and Pieve, feed the monovarietali and micro-parcel bottling programs. The remaining 85 hectares of the estate support a deliberate ecosystem of woods, olive groves, wheat, vegetable gardens, and livestock pasture that underpins the biodynamic approach.

• Ampeleia di Sopra: 15 hectares at 450 to 600 meters, primarily Cabernet Franc.
• Ampeleia di Mezzo: 10 hectares at 250 to 350 meters, planted to Sangiovese, Carignan, Grenache, and Alicante Bouschet.
• Ampeleia di Sotto: 10 hectares at 200 meters, focused on Grenache and Alicante Nero.
• 54 individual parcels are vinified separately; named sites include Vigna della Pieve, Brunero, La Rocca, and Cannucceto.

Ampeleia's winemaking philosophy is built around a single non-negotiable: no wooden barrels at any stage of production. All fermentation and aging takes place in cement tanks, a choice that Marco Tait and the founding team believe best transmits the character of individual parcels without the softening or aromatic influence of oak. Native yeasts are used throughout, sulfur additions are restrained, and intervention in the cellar is minimized at every stage. The estate has held biodynamic certification since 2009 and has produced its own biodynamic preparations on-site since 2012, integrating the broader 120-hectare property, including livestock and crops, into a closed-loop farming system. The Unlitro line, sold in one-liter bottles and blending Alicante Nero, Carignano, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese, and Alicante Bouschet, was conceived as a community project to include and support other small Tuscan organic producers.

• No wooden barrels used at any stage; all wines fermented and aged exclusively in cement tanks.
• Native yeasts and restrained sulfur use are standard practice across all labels.
• Biodynamic certified since 2009; biodynamic preparations produced on-site from 2012 using estate livestock and crops.
• 54 parcels vinified separately; the resulting monovarietali program includes single-vineyard Alicante Nero, Carignano, and Cabernet Franc bottlings.

Ampeleia represents one of the most coherent and fully realized biodynamic estates in Italy, identified in 2024 as one of the country's premier biodynamic producers. Its significance extends beyond certification: the estate has done substantive work reviving Alicante Nero, a Tuscan biotype of Grenache that was approaching extinction, and is on course to become the first Italian estate to release four distinct Cabernet Franc single-vineyard labels. The decision to plant Mediterranean varieties at altitude in Alta Maremma, rather than following the Bordeaux-variety fashions of the Maremma coast, was visionary in 2002 and looks prescient today given the pressures of climate change. At 11,000 cases per year across a wide range of price points, from the accessible Unlitro to the micro-production Vasca Dodici, Ampeleia reaches a broad audience without compromising its philosophy. For students of Italian wine, the estate offers a precise case study in IGT classification, biodynamic viticulture, the role of elevation in coastal Tuscan terroir, and the potential of non-native varieties to become deeply expressive in the right hands.

• Identified in 2024 as one of Italy's premiere biodynamic wineries; certified since 2009 with on-site preparations since 2012.
• Revived Alicante Nero, a near-extinct Tuscan biotype of Grenache, as a flagship variety.
• Positioned to become the first Italian estate with four distinct Cabernet Franc single-vineyard labels.
• All wines released under Toscana IGT or Costa Toscana IGT, demonstrating how IGT status accommodates variety-driven non-traditional programs.