Ampeleia

The story starts in 2000 at Rifugio Comici, 2,153 meters above sea level in the Alps, where Giovanni Podini, Elisabetta Foradori, and Thomas Widmann shared their vision of making wine in a special place. In 2002 Elisabetta and Giovanni found the estate's home in Roccatederighi, in Alta Maremma, and entrusted the project to Marco Tait, who at twenty-two became winemaker and company manager. That year Tait led the first harvest of Cabernet Franc, and the wine named Ampeleia was born. Both the estate and the wine take their name from the Greek word ampelos, meaning vine.

• 2000: Giovanni Podini, Elisabetta Foradori, and Thomas Widmann share the idea at Rifugio Comici.
• 2002: the estate settles in Roccatederighi and makes its first harvest.
• Marco Tait has been winemaker and company manager since 2002.
• The name comes from the Greek ampelos, meaning vine.

The Podini family, led by Dr. Giovanni Podini, carries on the project, with the ongoing involvement of Elisabetta Foradori as a board member and with winemaker Marco Tait. Tait is both winemaker and company manager.

• Owner: the Podini family, led by Giovanni Podini.
• Elisabetta Foradori: board member.
• Marco Tait: winemaker and company manager.

Ampeleia covers 120 hectares, 35 of them vineyards, with the rest given to woods, arable land, and an olive grove. The vines grow in four separate vineyards from 200 to 600 metres above sea level, a fragmentation the estate calls a defining part of its identity. Cannucceto, the lowest at 200 metres, sits on clay-rich soils with deposits of silt and marine fossils and grows the Sangiovese for Unlitro. La Pieve is a ten-hectare vineyard between 300 and 350 metres on clay, pebbles, conglomerate rock, and pockets of sand, planted to Alicante Nero, Mourvèdre, and Carignan. Sassoforte, at 300 metres, takes its name from an ancient volcano and has rhyolite and grey clay soils planted to Carignan, Mourvèdre, Alicante Nero, and white varieties. La Rocca, from 500 to 600 metres on galestro, palombino, and clay, is the home of Cabernet Franc and supplies every single-varietal Cabernet Franc wine, as well as Empatia and Bianco di Ampeleia.

• Cannucceto: 200 metres; clay-rich soils with silt and marine fossils; Sangiovese for Unlitro.
• La Pieve: ten hectares at 300 to 350 metres; Alicante Nero, Mourvèdre, and Carignan.
• Sassoforte: 300 metres; rhyolite and grey clay; Carignan, Mourvèdre, Alicante Nero, and white varieties.
• La Rocca: 500 to 600 metres; galestro, palombino, and clay; the home of Cabernet Franc.

The move toward organic and biodynamic farming began in 2009. The first certified organic harvest came in 2012, and the first biodynamic harvest in 2013. Ampeleia makes all of its biodynamic preparations in-house, and its free-grazing cows provide what is needed for the 500 preparation. Alongside the vines the farm grows wheat and olives and keeps beehives; its olive trees, around 800 in total, grow at 200 meters above sea level.

• 2009: the move toward organic and biodynamic farming begins.
• 2012: first certified organic harvest.
• 2013: first biodynamic harvest.
• All biodynamic preparations are made in-house.

Ampeleia, the flagship, is 100% Cabernet Franc from La Rocca, labelled IGT Toscana Cabernet Franc, made with 10% whole clusters and aged 18 months in concrete tanks and 1 year in bottle. A second 100% Cabernet Franc, simply called Cabernet Franc, was first made in 2014 from young plants growing in clay-rich soils. Two Cabernet Franc crus from La Rocca, 16 File and 30 File, come from a very small number of rows; 30 File was first made in 2019 and 16 File in 2020. Alicante Nero, a Mediterranean variety the estate describes as almost lost to time, arrived as cuttings in 2003, and its single-varietal wine debuted with the 2013 harvest. Unlitro, first harvested in 2011, blends Alicante Nero, Sangiovese, Mourvèdre, and Alicante Bouschet and is sold by the liter. Empatia is a pure Merlot from the estate's oldest vineyard, first made in 2007 and bottled only in magnum. Bianco di Ampeleia comes from co-planted Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia, and Ansonica, harvested and vinified together, while Rosato di Ampeleia is made from Carignano with whole clusters of Alicante Nero steeped in the must.

• Ampeleia: 100% Cabernet Franc, La Rocca, first vintage 2002.
• Cabernet Franc: 100% Cabernet Franc, first vintage 2014.
• 16 File and 30 File: Cabernet Franc crus from La Rocca; first vintages 2020 and 2019.
• Alicante Nero: 100% Alicante Nero, first vintage 2013.
• Unlitro: IGT Toscana Rosso, first vintage 2011.
• Empatia: 100% Merlot, magnum only, first vintage 2007.

A new tasting room and wine shop opened in 2023, and in 2024 a farm restaurant opened beside it, serving lunch and dinner. The estate also makes extra virgin olive oil and flour, introduced in 2020, and a pasta made with the Fabbri pasta maker from organic Cappelli wheat grown in its own fields.

• 2023: tasting room and wine shop open.
• 2024: farm restaurant opens beside the tasting room.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://ampeleia.it/en/about-us/our-story/, https://ampeleia.it/en/about-us/farm/, https://ampeleia.it/en/about-us/terroir/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/ampeleia/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/cabernet-franc/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/cru-cabernet-franc/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/alicante-nero/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/unlitro/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/empatia/, https://ampeleia.it/en/blog/the-new-ampeleia-labels-four-lines-telling-the-story-of-our-vineyards-in-tuscany-alta-maremma/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/bianco-di-ampeleia/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/rosato-di-ampeleia/, https://ampeleia.it/en/wines/, https://ampeleia.it/en/about-us/. Secondary source: JancisRobinson.com producer page (https://www.jancisrobinson.com/producers/ampeleia). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-12.