Poderi Morini

Forty hectares of vineyards that delve their roots into the gently sloping hillsides of Faenza that surround the Torre di Oriolo (Oriolo Tower), are the heart of the Poderi Morini as well as the heartland of the Romagna wine district.

Poderi Morini is a young company, passionate about its own lands and decisive in opting to produce wine to celebrate local values, traditions, and culture: “adding value to the Romagna we love” are indeed the words used to describe the motivation that drives this entrepreneurial yet intensely personal project.

The company began producing wine in 1998 and the first vinification was done with the grape that is emblematic of the lands of Romagna: Sangiovese. The first bottle produced was a Sangiovese Superiore Riserva, which was promptly dubbed “Nonno Rico” and dedicated to Alessandro’s paternal grandfather. This wine has given, over the years, many rewards and much recognition, representing also the means through which the brand has gained notoriety on both Italian and international markets: Poderi Morini. In this way, the original idea of Natale Morini, an important poultry and agricultural businessman, became a reality thanks to the enthusiasm, the professionalism, and commitment of his son Alessandro, together with his wife Daniela, who put body and soul into the plan to produce quality wines: research and improvement of the local grape varieties with the intention of making a dream come true: to introduce and promote the territory of Romagna.

The fertile soil of the Poderi Morini lies on the “spungone” (a spongy-looking rocky crag) and basks in a microclimate that draws its advantages from both a breeze from the Adriatic and winds that descend from the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. The particular conditions gave rise to an important part of the quality concept. Knowing how to make wine means having to make important value decisions from the start: putting quality above all else; focussing on autochthonous productions; involving highly-skilled collaborators; supporting production with cutting-edge technologies.
Every day the work of this company is concentrated on the clusters of grapes yet to be born and in monitoring the wine in the making. With care and authentic commitment, the best grapes are indeed caressed by both traditional and modern gestures that mark the passing of the seasons during an intensely laborious year: an initial short pruning at the end of winter; the suckering with the elimination of the double sprouts in May; in June the side shoots that trail off the vines at this time of year are removed and superfluous vines are cut; in July when the grapes begin to ripen, the clusters are thinned and pesticide treatments are limited as much as possible by using an integrated pest control method, until the most auspicious moment has been decided upon for harvesting by hand. For grapes destined for drying, the harvest is done in special small drawers with sides that can be opened to enable the optimisation of this process in the drying room designed with the techniques and equipment used in the region of Veneto for the production of Amarone.

Only the best grapes, cultivated in the most prosperous lots of the manors – Canovaccio, Cà Donati, and Gesuita – with an average yield per hectare of no more than 60 quintals (6 tons), become wine. Its transformation into wine is best done in the cellar newly constructed by a company called Moretti from Erbusco (BS) and outfitted with the most modern equipment: Vaslin-Bucher pneumatic soft presses that ensure a delicate extraction of only the best compounds of the grapes; modern vertical insulated steel fermenters (Ganimede method) and horizontal rotating ones (Vaslin-Bucher); refrigeration and temperature control systems that make it possible to maintain the bouquet of the grape varieties unchanged during fermentation; a lovely, underground, 600-square meter barrique cellar where the optimal situation and constant temperature and humidity guarantee adequate ageing of the wines in French, Austrian, and American oak barrels.

The desire to sample these wines is fulfilled in the tasting room, a place that was intentionally designed to enhance the experience by presenting the wine in elegant, solid wood shelves.