Storia
The site before the winery
Madonna del Latte occupies an old agricultural property in the hills between Orvieto and Lago di Bolsena. The house takes its name from a small chapel at the edge of the grounds. When the Zwecker family arrived, the building was a ruin with a collapsing roof. During the restoration, the family uncovered a large chamber excavated in volcanic tuff and filled with accumulated debris. After it was cleared, it became the ageing cellar. Its form resembles an Etruscan burial chamber, although its age cannot be established confidently.
The surrounding land also has a longer association with wine. In the sixteenth century, Pope Paul III prized the red wines produced in this area, considered them suitable for both winter and summer, and had substantial quantities brought to Rome.
2000: establishment of Madonna del Latte
After about ten years of searching and study, food-and-wine journalists and authors Manuela Zardo and Hellmuth Zwecker acquired the run-down property and its land in 2000. The Italian-German couple had travelled extensively before choosing the intact landscape of ancient Tuscia, in Umbria, as the setting for their long-planned wine project. They restored the house and rebuilt the property as a small family winery.
2004–2008: vineyards, cellar and first production
The first vines were planted in 2004. Technical records date the principal Cabernet Franc, Grechetto, Procanico and Pinot Noir blocks to 2005, followed by Viognier in 2007.
A modern fermentation cellar was built in 2007 alongside the ancient tuff chamber. It provided contemporary equipment for vinification while retaining the excavated cellar for maturation in French-oak barriques and tonneaux.
Leon Zwecker, the founders’ son, studied oenology in Austria and travelled to gain practical experience. He moved to Italy in 2008 to take part in the project, the same year in which the family began producing wine. He subsequently assumed responsibility for the business and for the complete production cycle, from work among the vines to vinification.
Development of Monte Landro
Leon Zwecker and Axel Cronauer identified a separate site at Monte Landro beside Lago di Bolsena, where volcanic soils, a south-facing slope, the lake-influenced climate and the drying Tramontana wind suggested the potential for Syrah. The vines were planted in 2015. The first official vintage was 2017; after 18 months in French oak, it was bottled in spring 2019.
Organic certification and the present family team
Environmental measures had formed part of the project from its beginning. The family progressively installed photovoltaic and solar panels, a wood-burning system supplied from its own woodland, composting, rainwater recovery and other closed-loop practices. Starting with the 2020 vintage, the wines and other agricultural products became officially certified organic.
The current public-facing family team comprises Manuela Zardo, Leon Zwecker and Leon’s partner, Ruta. Leon directs vineyard and cellar production with longstanding assistance from Roman oenologist Paolo Peira, who trained at the Faculté d’Œnologie de Bordeaux. Ruta is a sommelier and joins Leon in receiving visitors. Their daughters, Ieva and Eileen, are the youngest members of the family and have grown up around the vineyards and winery.
Terroir
Sugano estate
The main vineyards lie at Sugano in the hills between Orvieto and Lago di Bolsena, within the landscape of ancient Tuscia. They occupy well-exposed, ventilated slopes at approximately 450 m above sea level. The soils are sandy and tuffaceous, of volcanic origin, with high levels of potassium and magnesium. Recorded orientations include southeast and south-to-southeast.
The vineyards stand in an area subject to strict environmental protection, above and close to a mineral-water source. This sensitive setting is one of the reasons for excluding herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and insecticides.
Abundant sunlight and air movement are recurring features of the site. The mineral component associated with the volcanic soils is considered central to the estate’s interpretation of both white and red varieties.
Monte Landro
Monte Landro is a distinct vineyard site beside Lago di Bolsena at approximately 350 m. It lies on a gently inclined, fully south-facing mountainside formed by the volcanic landscape of the ancient crater lake. The large lake moderates the local climate, while the Tramontana provides a drying wind. Its soil is sandy and volcanic.
Vinificazione
Madonna del Latte has pursued low-impact agriculture since the project began and obtained organic certification from the 2020 vintage. Certification markings on technical documents carry the code IT-BIO-007.
No herbicides, synthetic fertilizers or insecticides are used. The estate also excludes chemically synthesized products from vineyard and cellar work. Organic residues from the vineyards and winery are composted and returned to the land, improving soil structure, water retention and microbial activity while reducing waste. Chickens contribute manure as well as eggs and meat, and the family grows fruit and vegetables on the property.
Rain falling on roofs and terraces is collected and reused for irrigation. The winery is powered largely through renewable sources, including photovoltaic panels, solar panels and a wood-burning system fueled with wood from the estate’s forest.
Pruning is carried out during dormancy, between late winter and early spring. The work limits excessive vegetative vigour, balances production and quality, opens the canopy to improve aeration and reduce fungal and pest pressure, and supports vine longevity. Shoots from the previous year are assessed, with vigorous, healthy wood selected and bud numbers adjusted to variety, soil fertility and seasonal conditions.
During ripening, the team monitors fruit development and the balance of sunlight and shade. Harvest is performed entirely by hand. A 2025 account describes a meticulous three-week picking phase beginning in late August, with bunches selected individually so that unripe or damaged fruit does not enter the cellar. Technical records document later picking dates for other varieties, including mid-September, late September and mid-October.
Cellars
The ageing cellar occupies a large tunnel excavated in volcanic tuff. Its naturally stable temperature and humidity provide conditions for maturation in French-oak barriques and tonneaux. The chamber resembles an Etruscan tomb, though it cannot be dated securely.
A modern fermentation cellar was added in 2007. Leon Zwecker directs production throughout the vineyards and cellar, working with consulting oenologist Paolo Peira.
Fermentation and maturation
The cellar uses both stainless-steel and barrel fermentation. White-wine protocols documented for the estate include destemming, gentle pneumatic pressing, natural settling for 24 hours at approximately 8–10°C, racking and inoculation with selected yeasts. Stainless-steel fermentation may be controlled at 17–18°C. Some lots are instead fermented in French-oak barrels, then transferred to stainless steel for at least five months of temperature-controlled maturation on suspended fine lees. Malolactic fermentation in these white-wine protocols is suppressed by cooling.
Red-wine protocols include destemming, temperature-controlled fermentation at 26–28°C with selected yeasts, racking, gentle pneumatic pressing and controlled malolactic fermentation. Wines intended for wood maturation are transferred to French-oak barrels; one documented protocol uses 12 months in oak, followed by assembly in stainless steel and at least 12 months of bottle maturation.
French-oak barrels include the Ermitage line from Tonnellerie Berthomieu. Other documents identify Ermitage barrels made to order from staves sourced in the Bertranges and Tronçais forests. Toasting levels are adjusted to the intended result, and some barrels are reused for several years when a subtler oak contribution is desired. The porous wood permits slow oxygen exchange, helping to stabilize colour and soften tannin astringency, while the toast contributes tertiary aromas.
Bottling
Bottling normally occupies one concentrated working day. A specialist external partner brings a mobile bottling line and crew to the winery; the operation is conducted under the estate’s supervision. Bottle ageing is treated as a further stage in the wine’s development rather than simply the end of vinification.
Filosofia
Madonna del Latte defines quality as the result of caring for the land rather than exploiting it. Its environmental programme seeks a progressively closed production cycle: organic residues become compost, rainwater is recovered for irrigation, renewable energy powers the cellar, and woodland supplies the heating system.
The estate’s approach joins contemporary equipment with the historic fabric of the property. Modern, temperature-controlled vinification takes place beside the old tuff cellar, while wood selection, barrel reuse and sensory assessment are adapted to the needs of each lot rather than imposed through a single formula.
Leon Zwecker describes the cellar’s role as accompanying and guiding the fruit rather than dominating it. Precision in the vineyard, gentle handling and measured intervention are intended to retain variety, vintage and volcanic-site character. The family also treats hospitality, local food, art and direct contact with visitors as integral parts of the wine experience.