Storia
The historic Feuduccio lands
In 1601, Il Feuduccio—formerly part of the county of Teate—was land held in demesne by Barone Boemondo II di Manoppello. The Venna stream was already an important source of water for the farmers cultivating the baronial lands. Its association with the property survived in the name Fonte Venna.
Foundation in 1996
Gaetano and Maria Lamaletto founded the modern Il Feuduccio estate in 1996 at Santa Maria d’Orni, Orsogna. They developed the property on elevated hills between the Majella massif and the Adriatic Sea and created a winery embedded in the rock. The cellar was constructed on five levels, with its underground production and maturation rooms reaching 14 m below the vineyards.
Vineyard renewal and clonal selection
The estate’s first agronomic improvements focused on renewing existing vineyards and changing their training systems. Traditional tendone-trained vines were replaced with rows, principally using mono- and bidirectional spurred cordons. This transition reduced yields while raising planting density to between 3,630 and 5,000 vines per hectare in the renewed vineyards. The broader vineyard holdings also contain blocks documented at densities between 1,600 and 8,000 vines per hectare, as well as pergola abruzzese, simple Guyot and modified high-row training.
Careful clonal selection became part of the estate’s work with native varieties. Selection of Pecorino material began in 1997 and continued for more than two decades. Trebbiano Abruzzese was likewise developed from a low-yielding selection.
First estate selections
The first vintages of Ursonia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Margae Montepulciano d’Abruzzo were produced in 1998. Both were conceived from selected estate grapes, with Margae reserved for the best fruit from the best vineyards and produced only in favored vintages.
A barrel-fermented Pecorino selection followed with the 2000 vintage. Presented within the estate’s top selection range as Ursonia Pecorino and also identified as Yare in its technical description, it came from carefully selected Pecorino vines and was made in limited quantities.
Production model
Il Feuduccio developed a vertically organized, rock-cut cellar where grape processing, must fermentation, storage, wood maturation and bottle ageing take place under controlled conditions. Vineyard work centers on pruning, crop thinning, bunch selection, low yields and manual harvesting. Grapes arrive in perforated crates and undergo a further manual quality check on a sorting conveyor before processing.
The portfolio subsequently took shape around five groups: Fonte Venna, Feuduccio, Ursonia and Margae, Essenza, and sparkling wines. Fonte Venna preserves the name of the stream historically associated with the property, while the upper-tier Ursonia and Margae wines are based on selections from the estate’s best vineyards and are made only in suitable vintages.
Terroir
Il Feuduccio di Santa Maria d’Orni lies in Orsogna, at the heart of Parco Territoriale dell’Annunziata. The estate occupies elevated hills extending between the slopes of Majella and Gran Sasso d’Italia and the Adriatic Sea. Vineyards and olive groves surround the winery.
The vineyards documented across the estate lie at approximately 420–432 m above sea level. Their varied aspects include north, northeast, southeast, south, southwest and northwest, allowing varieties and wine styles to be matched to differently oriented sectors. Passerina is associated with a northeast-facing block at 420 m; Pecorino sectors at 432 m face southeast and southwest; Trebbiano Abruzzese is grown on a northeast exposure; Montepulciano sectors encompass northerly exposures for rosé production and southeast-to-southwest exposures for red wines.
Soils are consistently described as mixed clay-and-limestone formations. More detailed descriptions characterize them as medium-textured clay-limestone soils that tend toward compactness, or as mixed loam-and-clay, calcareous soils. The olive-growing sector is particularly stony. The combination of elevation, soils and the position between mountains and sea creates the estate’s distinctive cool hillside microclimate.
Vinificazione
Il Feuduccio’s vineyard program is managed by specialized technicians and a wider team committed to the estate’s quality objectives. Its first major agronomic action was the renewal of established tendone-trained vineyards. New rows were planted principally to mono- and bidirectional spurred cordon, raising vine density and deliberately reducing production compared with the former system. Selected blocks also employ simple Guyot, modified high rows and pergola abruzzese.
Pruning, crop thinning and repeated checks are central to yield and fruit control. A further green harvest takes place at veraison, approximately 40–50 days before picking, to refine bunch selection. The renewed vineyards described in the general program carry 3,630–5,000 vines per hectare and produce 50–60 q/ha; technical descriptions of individual sectors extend from 1,600 to 8,000 vines per hectare and from 70 to 120 q/ha according to variety and intended wine.
Clonal work is particularly important for the native white varieties. Careful Pecorino selection began in 1997, and Trebbiano Abruzzese is derived from a selection characterized by low production. The Trebbiano sector is managed with a low-impact regime combining no-tillage and controlled grassing. SQNPI certification—the Sistema di qualità nazionale di produzione integrata—is documented under EU Regulation 1974/2006 for certified production.
Harvesting is manual. Pickers place whole bunches in perforated crates and take care not to crush the berries. The crates are transported to the winery, emptied by hand onto a sorting conveyor and subjected to a final quality check. Harvest timing varies by variety and sector: Pecorino begins at the end of August or in the first week of September, Passerina is picked around mid-September, Trebbiano Abruzzese in the second ten days of September, and Montepulciano from early through late October.
The cellar
The winery is embedded in rock and arranged over five levels. Grape processing, must fermentation, wine storage and maturation take place in underground rooms reaching 14 m beneath the vineyards. Temperature, humidity and air exchange are continuously controlled throughout these spaces. Artistic niches were constructed for bottle ageing.
Reception and fermentation
Hand-harvested grapes arrive in perforated crates and are emptied manually onto a sorting conveyor for a final quality check. Stainless-steel vats are the principal fermentation vessels. Red-wine fermentations use temperature control with daily pump-overs; documented tanks range from 70 to 150 hl, including 130 hl vessels. Depending on the selection, skin contact lasts approximately 15–20 days. Rosé production uses either a short skin maceration followed by temperature-controlled stainless-steel fermentation or red grapes vinified with minimal skin contact. White wines are generally fermented at controlled temperature in stainless steel.
A Trebbiano Abruzzese selection is fermented with yeasts originating from the estate’s countryside. The top Pecorino selection is fermented in new barriques and tonneaux and remains on its lees for an extended period.
Maturation
The underground cellar contains French-oak barrels and barriques in several capacities. Across the portfolio, documented vessels range from 2.25 hl barriques to 50 hl barrels. The estate’s general Italian description gives an oak-maturation range of 12–18 months, while individual selections extend to 20 months; the English winery text presents a broader range of 5–24 months. Barriques have an average working life of three years, and 30% are renewed annually.
Individual red-wine programs include 12 months in French oak of 2.25–50 hl, 18 months in 2.25–7 hl French-oak vessels and 20 months in 2.25 hl French-oak barriques. Bottle ageing ranges from several months for earlier-drinking wines to at least 12 months for Ursonia and at least 20 months for Margae. Stainless-steel maturation is used for fresher white, rosé and red styles.
Sparkling wines undergo natural secondary fermentation in small autoclaves by the Charmat method at low temperature.
Filosofia
Il Feuduccio’s stated quality project joins technical specialization with the commitment of the people working throughout the estate. In the vineyard, quality is pursued through clonal selection, pruning, reduced yields, thinning at veraison, repeated bunch selection and careful manual harvesting. Terrain and microclimate are treated as fundamental contributors to the identity of the wines.
The estate presents its cellar work as simple but informed by experience. Accuracy accompanies simplicity: fruit is protected in small perforated crates, inspected before processing, fermented under controlled conditions and matured in underground rooms with regulated temperature, humidity and air exchange.
Native grapes occupy a central place. Pecorino and Trebbiano Abruzzese are developed through selection work, while the best estate fruit is reserved for limited selections in favorable vintages. The objective is to preserve a recognizable connection among the elevated hills, their soils and microclimate, and the finished wines.