Colle Florido
Pianella,Abruzzo, Italy
After years of dancing around as a sommelier in some of the most elegant Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe, among which the beloved Il Pellicano on the Tuscan coast, Andrea Ugolotti left his polished dining room look for the rustic fields of Montalcino with a desire to learn about farming and making wine. With the meticulous air of someone who has cared for others his entire career, Andrea now tends to vineyards on his farm, Colle Florido, in Pianella, Abruzzo together with his wife, Daniela. They originally set out to make two wines, a white and a red, made from Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and Montepulciano, respectively.
“We chose leaving our previous lives to come living in Abruzzo to grow a family and to make wine was a beautiful way to enjoy both. With the family's help we have built Colle Florido: step by step, learning something every single day, making all of this by Daniela and I. We want to represent at most our farm, the wines are the mix of the season, the terroir, and our ideas, with a big respect for nature.
We also want to be very clear about something that we care about: we are not like the greatest and historically famous Abruzzo wineries; we are a new, small family project, made from scratch 5 years ago. We care for everything, as artisanally as possible. And as I told the Abruzzo agriculture governor, we are not making wines in D.O.C., to be absolutely free to make the wines as the vintage says, not to deconstruct the terroir but to tell more about it”
-ANDREA UGOLOTTI
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While Andrea reigns from the dining room, his wife, Daniela Trolio, is originally from Pianella in Abruzzo, though she had long embarked on a career as an architect in Paris. Willing to start a family and live closer to the land, they both abandoned their careers to start something together on Daniela’s family’s land in Pianella. It is very much a two man show, small but mighty. Andrea and Daniela’s utmost goal is to care for the land as respectfully as possibile. They started their production in 2016 and today farm about 3.5 hectares of Montepulciano and Trebbiano with utmost care for the environment and for sustainability which are vital to their approach. Given Andrea’s roots, the wines seek precision in the glass but without the exaggeration or “outside of the lines” characteristic that often define winemaking in Abruzzo.
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Colle Florida is situated in Pianella, a small town in the province of Pescara. The ecosystem here is vast, encompassing the cultivation of vines, olives, vegetables, grain and other crops, plus pastures and thick woods which make this area unique and rich with resources. The terrain is hilly in this portion of Abruzzo, Italy’s mountainous region along the Adriatic Sea reaching a max of 280 m above sea level. Ferrous clay and limestone dominates the vineyards, which lend to lower yields but high quality fruit.
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The vineyards are run organically and using as much local tradition and technique as possibile. The Montepulciano is all planted “tendone” (essentially a high pergola), while Trebbiano is cultivated in more classic rows. No chemicals are used in the vineyards and only a minimal amount of copper and sulfur is applied if necessary. Harvest is done by hand.
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In the cellar, fermentation is spontaneous from indigenous yeasts, without any temperature control. No fining or filtration, nor other additives are used in the cellar. Sulfur in kept under 20 mg/L.
Wines
Il Postino
100% Trebbiano This wine takes its name from the vineyard, which once belonged to the local postman (postino). The Trebbiano is pressed whole-cluster using a vertical press and left on the skins overnight; only the free-run must is used. Stainless steel and old barrique (Beaufort in Champagne) are used for fermentation and aging. After the malolactic is concluded the wine is bottled the following spring.
Erba Salata
100% Montepulciano The berries are gently destemmed and fermented in wooden vats. No punch downs or other processing is done, but particular attention is made to make sure the cap is always wet. The wine is gently pressed in old barriques and its fermentation vats. If the vintage allows, it will not be decanted and is bottled after 18 months.
“This wine represents my past in Montalcino: grapes macerated 22/24 days with the skins, then seeing only oak for 18/20 months. This makes a gently strong wine, like the people of Abruzzo (In Italy the saying goes: Abruzzo, forte e gentile:) I’m looking for an elegant montepulciano that maintains a strong character.”
La Lèna
100% Montepulciano rosé This rosé is made by the direct pressing of Montepulciano grapes plus stems. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel and old barriques using only free run juice. Once decanted, it is no longer moved until just before summer. No Sulphur is added, but it is sealed with a bit of Co2.
“Exactly the same way we make Postino but with Montepulciano grapes. We take the grapes in both the Montepulciano vineyards we have, no early picked, is simply the first Montepulciano harvest we made and... starting from 2021 aged in a wood like every other wine.”
Salvo
100% Montepulciano A red wine with the same exact vinification of Erba Salata but with a shorter maceration period spending only 4 days on the skins. Fermentation takes place in a big barrel called a garbellotto following the traditional winemaking ways of Abruzzo. The result is a fresh red wine, a sort of “little brother” to Erba Salata.
L.Eva
100% Trebbiano This wine is made when the vintage allows by an old vineyard of Trebbiano and it is softer than il Postino. Total bottling volumes are in the order of 15.000 bottles, with a view to rise to little over 20.000 as recent plantings come into production and cellar space is expanded