Cristina Geminiani of Fattorina Zerbina
Ever since taking over operations from her grandfather in 1987, shortly before completing
her University studies in agronomy, Cristina Geminiani has directed the estate’s
work both in the cellars – first with the assistance of consulting winemaker Vittorio
Fiore, but entirely on her own since 1997 – and in the vineyards, where she continues
to avail herself of the advice of consulting agronomist Remigio Bordini. It was this
latter collaboration that gave birth to the idea – towards the end of the 1980s –
of re-activating the traditional vine-training system of Romagna, the high-density,
bush-trained (gobelet) vineyards which once characterized the region. Sangiovese
and Albana are the grape varieties which have received the estate’s greatest time
and commitment, and remain the central focus of her work.
The history of Zerbina’s wines began in 1966, when Vincenzo Geminiani planted the
first vineyards and produced the first wines in 1971, which were immediately recognised
for their quality. The decisive turning point in the estate’s fortunes, however,
occurred in 1987 when Cristina Geminiani, Vincenzo's granddaughter, decided to immerse
herself into this new adventure; with the objective, from the very beginning, of
achieving new quality levels and of gaining new recognition for Zerbina’s Sangiovese
and Albana.
As far as Sangiovese is concerned – the quintessential grape variety in all of Zerbina’s
red wines, particularly Pietramora - Cristina set about upgrading the vineyards in
little more than two years with the planting of the first high-density, gobelet-trained
vines (a truly pioneering decision in the Italy of the time) and by experimenting
to achieve the first reliable clonal selections of Sangiovese; some of Tuscan origin,
others from Romagna.
A systematic adherence to applied research which, over the years, has vindicated
the choice of the gobelet training system, with the only significant modification
being in the wire supports for the canopy. A similar commitment in the run up to
and during the harvest has enabled the new vineyards to produce reliable and regular
high quality results in a very short space of time as well as accelerating the upgrading
of the estate’s older vineyards.
Equally innovative has been the approach with Albana, a grape noted in the past more
for its generous yields than for the finesse of its results. And precisely in order
to gain a certain amount of finesse, and to mitigate the excessively tannic character
of the wines, Cristina decided to base her work on “noble rot” and the harvest techniques
of Bordeaux, with a series of passages through the vineyard aimed at picking only
grapes and bunches touched by botrytis. This was a courageous choice, which was immediately
rewarded by a favourable vintage in 1987 but one which in the long run has required
even more time and effort than the Sangiovese to achieve the desired high quality
results. Even though the early vintages of Scaccomatto were a notable success, it
was only after 1992 that Cristina had gained the necessary experience and understanding
to follow the development of botrytis in the vineyard properly and the timely and
accurate selection of the bunches and berries - a risky operations which took a notable
psychological toll on those responsible for the harvest.
At the same time, and on the basis of work being developed in Tuscany, the Marzieno
project was born - a wine conceived as a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet and which,
in recent years, has been lavishly praised for the quality level which it has achieved.
The most recent vintages, however, have seen an even greater complexity in the final
blend with the addition of Merlot and Syrah as well. But for a longer period for
time, and in the estate’s Sangiovese-based selections as well, Ancellotta has been
a part of the blend. This traditional local variety, often little considered in its
home territory, has instead, for Cristina, been the object of constant attention
on her part, to the point that she considers it to be “her” Petit Verdot.
Recent developments have seen the introduction of a dry Albana wine and an entry
level Sangoivese - “500” designed to appeal to young drinkers with its racy fruit
and relatively low alcohol content, but we haven’t tasted them yet.
Whilst Cristina acknowledges the contribution that modern technology has brought
to winemaking in the cellars, there is no desire on her part to dismiss it, to exclude
it, nor to refuse to take it into proper consideration. Her wines, which may be powerful
and structured or fine and elegant, are the way they are because of the grapes from
which they are made, not because of any overriding desire to transform them into
something notably different from the raw material from which they are born.
FATTORIA ZERBINA
LOCATION:
the Apennine foothills between Romagna and Tuscany (Bologna - 50 km; Firenze – 90
km; Ravenna – 30 km)
ALTITUDE:
from 75 meters (250 feet) to 220 meters (625 fet) above sea level
SURFACE AREA:
40 hectares (100 acres), 27.5 of which (68 acres) planted to vineyards
PRINCIPAL GRAPE VARIETIES:
Sangiovese and Albana
OTHER VARIETIES:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Ancellotta, Trebbiano and Chardonnay
WINES PRODUCED:
RED Sangiovese di Romagna DOC
Pietramora
Torre di Ceparano
Vigna Querce
Ceregio
Ravenna IGT
Marzieno
500
WHITE Trebbiano di Romagna DOC
Dalbiere
Ravenna IGT
Tergeno
Albana di Romagna DOC
AS
DESSERT Albana di Romagna Passito DOCG
Scaccomatto
Arrocco
AR
Tel: +39 054 640022
Fax: +39 054 640275
Albana Botrytis
Cristina Geminiani
