Fiorano (wine)
Encyclopedia
Fiorano was an Italian
wine
-producing estate owned by Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, a prince of Venosa
of the Ludovisi family
, active during a period from the late 1940s to 1995. Fiorano is situated in the vicinity of Rome
near the Via Appia Antica in the Latium
district. The estate, its methods, wines and its proprietor were all noted for their unorthodoxy in comparison to norms of the wine industry. Though limited in terms of fame, the red wine and two white wines produced at Fiorano during its period of activity achieved reputations for innovation and longevity
.
from local grape varieties first starting in the 1930s. Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi inherited the estate in 1946, and replaced the existing vines
with the Bordeaux
international grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon
, Merlot
and Sémillon
as well as Malvasia di Candia. This change of viticultural direction took place several years ahead of what later became a trend. Prince Ludovisi also practiced organic agriculture during an era when chemical agriculture
methods were more commonplace. This happened after consultation with Dr. Giuseppe Palieri who remained an advisor until his death. Later, Ludovisi received advice from Dr. Tancredi Biondi Santi.
The Italian wine writer Luigi Veronelli
stated that Prince Ludivisi was the first to employ "biological farming" practices in Italy. He compared Fiorano red wines to Sassicaia
, and once wrote of them, "They enchant you with the first taste, burrow in your memory and make you forever better", and, "If I lived in Rome, I would beg for them at the prince's door every morning".
The relationship between Ludovisi and his wine merchants has been described as strained due to the Prince's eccentric manner of doing business. Over time, import of the wines ceased, and although wine was made until 1995, the sale of bottles had ended some time before.
In 1966, Prince Ludovisi's sole daughter Francesca had married Piero Antinori, a winemaker with a reputation associated with the modernist wine movement, and when Ludovisi pulled out nearly all Fiorano vines following the 1995 harvest while giving no explanation, subsequent rumours claimed this was in order to prevent his son-in-law from ruining the Fiorano legacy. Antinori expressed to Eric Asimov
that he believed Ludovisi could not bear the thought of anybody else making his wines when he could no longer do it himself. In a 2001 interview, Ludovisi stated that his reasons were the vines' advanced age and poor health.
Following the death of Prince Ludovisi in 2005, after a prolonged period of illness and legal difficulties, the estate was inherited by the granddaughters, Alessia, Allegra and Albiera Antinori. The sisters Antinori are currently in charge of Fiorano and have stated their intentions to restore the vineyard biodynamically
in collaboration with Antinori wine director Renzo Cotarella, beginning in 2011.
wines, a Sémillon and a Malvasia di Candia.
The grapes were pruned to extremely reduced yield
s described as "ridiculously low", which resulted in unusual levels of flavour concentration.
The wine was aged in large numbered barrels which were reused year after year. The Fiorano cellars had a widespread culture
of white mold
that covered the barrels and bottles
, which Ludovisi believed to be beneficial to his production and left to develop undisturbed.
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-producing estate owned by Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi, a prince of Venosa
Venosa
Venosa is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, Rapolla and Spinazzola....
of the Ludovisi family
Ludovisi (family)
The Ludovisi were a noble Italian family, originating from Bologna.Famous members of the family were - among others - Cardinal Alessandro Ludovisi, who became Pope with the name of Gregory XV, and his nephew, Ludovico Ludovisi, also cardinal...
, active during a period from the late 1940s to 1995. Fiorano is situated in the vicinity of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
near the Via Appia Antica in the Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
district. The estate, its methods, wines and its proprietor were all noted for their unorthodoxy in comparison to norms of the wine industry. Though limited in terms of fame, the red wine and two white wines produced at Fiorano during its period of activity achieved reputations for innovation and longevity
Aging of wine
The aging of wine, and its ability to potentially improve wine quality, distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color,...
.
History
While the Ludovisi family lineage may be traced back ca. 1,000 years, the Fiorano estate, located 41 km (25.5 mi) from Rome, had viticultureViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
from local grape varieties first starting in the 1930s. Prince Alberico Boncompagni Ludovisi inherited the estate in 1946, and replaced the existing vines
Vitis
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, both for direct consumption of the fruit and for fermentation to produce...
with the Bordeaux
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
international grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
and Sémillon
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...
as well as Malvasia di Candia. This change of viticultural direction took place several years ahead of what later became a trend. Prince Ludovisi also practiced organic agriculture during an era when chemical agriculture
Industrial agriculture (crops)
Industrial agriculture of crops is a modern form of intensive farming that refers to the industrialized production of crops. Industrial agriculture's methods are technoscientific, economic, and political...
methods were more commonplace. This happened after consultation with Dr. Giuseppe Palieri who remained an advisor until his death. Later, Ludovisi received advice from Dr. Tancredi Biondi Santi.
The Italian wine writer Luigi Veronelli
Luigi Veronelli
Luigi Veronelli was an Italian gastronome and intellectual. He is remembered as one of the central figures in the appreciation and promotion of Italy's gastronomic heritage...
stated that Prince Ludivisi was the first to employ "biological farming" practices in Italy. He compared Fiorano red wines to Sassicaia
Sassicaia
Tenuta San Guido is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of "Super Tuscan" wine. Its wine Sassicaia is considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines. The estate also produces a second wine, Guidalberto, and the third wine Le Difese...
, and once wrote of them, "They enchant you with the first taste, burrow in your memory and make you forever better", and, "If I lived in Rome, I would beg for them at the prince's door every morning".
The relationship between Ludovisi and his wine merchants has been described as strained due to the Prince's eccentric manner of doing business. Over time, import of the wines ceased, and although wine was made until 1995, the sale of bottles had ended some time before.
In 1966, Prince Ludovisi's sole daughter Francesca had married Piero Antinori, a winemaker with a reputation associated with the modernist wine movement, and when Ludovisi pulled out nearly all Fiorano vines following the 1995 harvest while giving no explanation, subsequent rumours claimed this was in order to prevent his son-in-law from ruining the Fiorano legacy. Antinori expressed to Eric Asimov
Eric Asimov
Eric Asimov is an American wine critic for The New York Times, with articles subsequently published in the International Herald Tribune.-Biography:...
that he believed Ludovisi could not bear the thought of anybody else making his wines when he could no longer do it himself. In a 2001 interview, Ludovisi stated that his reasons were the vines' advanced age and poor health.
Following the death of Prince Ludovisi in 2005, after a prolonged period of illness and legal difficulties, the estate was inherited by the granddaughters, Alessia, Allegra and Albiera Antinori. The sisters Antinori are currently in charge of Fiorano and have stated their intentions to restore the vineyard biodynamically
Biodynamic wine
Biodynamic wines are wines made using the principles of biodynamic agriculture. Biodynamic refers to both the agricultural methods and the handling and processing of the fruit post-harvest.-Biodynamic viticulture:...
in collaboration with Antinori wine director Renzo Cotarella, beginning in 2011.
Production
From a vineyard area of 10 ha (24.7 acre), there was produced three wines at the estate, one Rosso, a red Bordeaux-style blend from the plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and two white varietalVarietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
wines, a Sémillon and a Malvasia di Candia.
The grapes were pruned to extremely reduced yield
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...
s described as "ridiculously low", which resulted in unusual levels of flavour concentration.
The wine was aged in large numbered barrels which were reused year after year. The Fiorano cellars had a widespread culture
Microbiological culture
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are used to determine the type of organism, its abundance in the sample being tested,...
of white mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
that covered the barrels and bottles
Wine bottle
A wine bottle is a bottle used for holding wine, generally made of glass. Some wines are fermented in the bottle, others are bottled only after fermentation. They come in a large variety of sizes, several named for Biblical kings and other figures. The standard bottle contains 750 ml,...
, which Ludovisi believed to be beneficial to his production and left to develop undisturbed.