the cellar

a passion passed down
through the generations

MONTE DELLE VIGNE IS A STORY OF LOVE: LOVE FOR THE LAND, WITH RESPECT FOR NATURE AND LOCAL TRADITION.

Paolo Pizzarotti is only 19 years old when he inherites the property on the Parma hills that nowadays is called Monte delle Vigne. From the beginning, Paolo started cultivating organically alfalfa and wheat while raising frisona olandese breed. In 2003 Paolo decides to plant Barbera and Malvasia to bring Colli di Parma

back to their original aspect described by Frà Salimbene de Adam, a friar lived in the Middle Ages, in his “Cronache Medievali”. Viticulture is carried out with the same organic approach used so far while Paolo starts also to look for modern technologies allowing to exploit natural forces, such as gravity, for winemaking activities.

Paolo Pizzarotti ha soli diciannove anni quando eredita il podere sui Colli di Parma che oggi, ingrandito e cresciuto, è Monte delle Vigne. Da subito inizia a coltivare erba medica e frumento e ad allevare le frisone olandesi, conducendo la produzione a regime biologico prima ancora che nasca la certificazione.

Nel 2003, al suo ingresso nella società di Monte delle Vigne, sceglie di piantare Barbera e Malvasia per riportare i Colli di Parma al loro antico aspetto descritto da Frà Salimbene de Adam nelle sue “Cronache medievali”. Prendono così nuova forza in Paolo la passione per l’agricoltura biologica e per la produzione vinicola di qualità, incentivando la ricerca delle metodologie più avanzate, per contrastare i cambiamenti climatici ed elevare la qualità dei suoi vini.

“It’s not an easy path but definitely it is a stimulant one, that I indend to walk all the way” are the words used by Paolo Pizzarotti to describe how Monte delle Vigne has grown over time: a story of love for the land, respect for nature and local tradition. A dream that has become real.

1983

The beginning
It was in 1983 when the adventure of Monte delle Vigne took off in the heart of Colli di Parma’s DOC. Everything started from a 7-hectare vineyard, a small winery and the will to produce wine from native grapes such as Barbera and Malvasia through a sustainable approach aimed at preserving the surrounding environment.

1992

Nabucco
Nine years after its founding, Monte delle Vigne gives birth to Nabucco, the first still red wine made in Parma. It is a blend of Barbera and Merlot that is aged for twelve months in French oak barriques. Nabucco immediately becomes the symbol of the company and of the Parma production area, which until then had only seen the production of sparkling wines

1999

and Callas
A few years after Nabucco, it was the time for Callas to go onstage. Callas is made from 100% Malvasia di Candia, the typical white grape variety of Colli Parmensi. A white which is able to face the challenge of time with its crisp, mineral and elegant personality.

2003

The arrival of Paolo Pizzarotti
Our winery keeps growing: production has tripled and, faced with the need to compete on international markets, innovations and changes are carried out. Paolo Pizzarotti, owner of a 100-hectare farm bordering Monte delle Vigne, becomes the major shareholder. With him, the winery takes off.

2005

New hectares
Five new hectares of vineyards are planted each year from 2005 to 2009. At the end of 2009, total hectares amount to 40, feauturing Malvasia, Sauvignon and Chardonnay as for white grapes and Barbera, Merlot, Croatina, Lambrusco and Cabernet Franc for red grapes.

2006

The new underground cellar
In 2006 we inaugurated the new underground cellar, which is kept at constant temperature and is equipped with geothermal system and rainwater recovery for irrigation. All these elements strengthen our eco-sustainable approach.

2007

Rubina
Our new label is Rubina, a rosé sparkling wine made from Barbera grapes undergoing white vinification.

2010

Franc
The "Chiuso del Lago" is a plot of 1.30 hectares totally surrounded by woods with a beautiful lake at the bottom. From this vineyard, in 2010 we produced 6.600 bottles of Cabernet Franc. A local interpretation of a great grape variety.

2012

I Calanchi Calanchi is the first Lambrusco DOC Colli di Parma, a further interpretation of Lambrusco Maestri, a Lambrusco variety native to Parma which gives “the fruitiest, creamiest and most immediately appealing, if not the deepest and most complex, Lambrusco wines of all” according to Ian d’Agata’s Native Wine Grapes of Italy.

2016

A New Philosphy
Our philosophy is shaped by sustainability and organic farming.

2020

A new Direction
The Board of Directors has been changes and includes now Paolo Pizzarotti (Chairman), his son Michele (Director), Lorenzo Numanti (Chief Executive Officer) and Andrea Bonini, (Vineyard and Cellar Production Supervisor).

2021

The first organic harvest
The sustainable path of Monte delle Vigne began in 2016. From 2021 harvest, wines will be finally organic and certified by ICEA - Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification. Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale.

2022

Presentation of the Wines of Prose, the new labels aim to crown the conversion to organic and an increasingly close relationship with the Colli di Parma. New, strongly identity-driven references are presented with the aim of telling the story of the terroir of Ozzano Taro: Brusata, Il Chiuso, Ginestra and Quattro Laghi

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