Colle Florido

Spoltore (PE) - ABRUZZO

Colle Florido is situated in Abruzzo, just outside the little town of Pianella, about 20 minutes’ drive inland from Pescara on the Adriatic coast. It is here in Europe’s greenest region that Andrea Ugolotti and his wife Daniela, found the perfect place for their vineyard and their family.

Before Andrea started making wine, he was a respected sommelier. Originally from Genoa, he travelled between Italy, France, England and Scotland, working for a number of Michelin-starred restaurants – Dal Pescatore, L’oustau de Baumaniere, and Le Bricourt to name just a few.

But after many years in high-end hospitality, he decided to abandon the restaurant world and move to Montalcino, to reconnect with the land, to learn how to farm and ultimately to make great wines. As a part of that process, he established strong relationships with Gianfranco Soldera and Marino Colleoni. The latter brought him into the VinNatur Association, which gave him an opportunity to meet other producers and create new relationships.

In 2015 Andrea and Daniela moved to Daniela’s hometown in Abruzzo where they renovated her parent’s house and created Colle Florido. Today they farm three hectares of vines: 1.2 hectares which they own and the remaining 1.8 hectares, which they rent. Both plots share the same clayey-calcareous soil. One hectare is planted with 25 year-old vines of Montepulciano, while another 2000 square meters have 40 year-old Trebbiano vines.

Andrea has a clear vision. He became a grape grower so that he could control every step of the winemaking process. Sustainability and respect for the environment are central tenets of his viticulture. No chemicals are used in the vineyards and only small amounts of copper and sulphur are applied if needed.

Harvesting is done by hand, mostly by Andrea and Daniela, with the help of the family. The tiny cellar is inside his garage. All grapes, white and red, are de-stemmed by hand. No pumps are used at this stage so as not to crush the berries. The grapes are carried around in a basket and trowelled by hand into the vat, where they are left to break down gently under the weight of gravity. A small pump is used for racking if required. The wine ferments in both steel and neutral wood containers. Andrea uses spontaneous micro fermentations from indigenous yeasts, without any temperature control. There is no fining nor filtration. Small amounts of sulphur dioxide are added, but no other additives are used.

Colle Florido’s wines are a genuine expression or both place and the distinctive vision of its winemaker. The result is incredible hand-grafted garagiste wines of great class, energy, purity and freshness.