Storia
Nineteenth-century origins
Tenuta La Rampata occupies a nineteenth-century agricultural complex surrounded by vineyards in the Enza River valley at Montecchio Emilia. Some of its historic buildings were subsequently restored and adapted to house the family’s acetaia, wine museum and hospitality spaces. The museum collection includes implements gathered since the Medici family began its activity in the nineteenth century, supplemented by objects from the Reggio Emilia plain and tools used through the post-war period.
The historic acetaia
The precise beginning of balsamic-vinegar production at La Rampata is undocumented, but the oldest surviving cask was already in service in 1906. The estate’s attics became the setting for the maturation and ageing of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia DOP, with batteries of differently sized and differently wooded barrels exposed to the area’s seasonal temperature changes.
The single-vineyard project
In 1993 the Medici family introduced Concerto, a cru made from Lambrusco Salamino. Its fruit comes from a single vineyard at Tenuta La Rampata. The vineyard was replanted as part of the family’s quality programme, trained to cordone speronato and managed at yields below the applicable production rules. The parcel was subsequently enlarged, while the technology employed at the Gaida cellar evolved over time.
La Rampata also supplies Lambrusco Salamino for Granconcerto and Lambrusco Marani for Unique. The two traditional-method sparkling wines were presented with redesigned labels for the 2018 vintage. Granconcerto draws on the same vineyard used for Concerto and is made only in selected vintages; Unique comes from Lambrusco Marani grown in the estate’s vineyards.
Hospitality and cultural activity
In 2018 La Rampata became the venue for the first edition of Medici per il Territorio, a recurring project connecting agriculture, viticulture, environmental sustainability, art, culture, hospitality, tourism and contemporary ideas. The estate welcomed psychologist Salvo Noè on 8 June 2018 and agronomist Luca Casoli on 23 October 2018. Two further editions followed in 2019: filmmaker Pupi Avati appeared on 8 June, and the Rally della Stampa brought journalists and historic cars to the estate on 12 September.
During 2019, La Rampata received more than 7,000 visitors across tours, conferences, events and tastings. Medici per il Territorio resumed on 10 June 2022 with philosopher Umberto Galimberti, followed by former footballer and broadcaster Katia Serra and Olympic ski champion Giuliano Razzoli on 15 June 2023. Naturalist and writer Daniel Lumera led the seventh edition on 4 June 2025, and art historian Jacopo Veneziani appeared at the eighth edition on 4 June 2026.
Organic conversion
The estate’s vineyards formed part of Medici Ermete’s conversion of all its vineyard holdings from sustainable integrated pest management to certified organic cultivation. The conversion required at least three years and formal inspections. Certification arrived in 2021, while Concerto’s 2020 harvest became its first certified-organic vintage and was released in March 2021. The wider organisation also implemented the Equalitas sustainability system in September 2021.
Terroir
Tenuta La Rampata lies at Montecchio Emilia in the province of Reggio Emilia, among vineyards along the Enza River valley. The address is Strada per Sant’Ilario 68, 42027 Montecchio Emilia.
The estate’s wine parcels have clay soils. The wider Reggio Emilia setting combines high plain and foothill environments whose microclimates and clay-rich ground support viticulture. Regional summers are warm and sunny; winters are cold, with fog on the plain and possible snow on the hills. Seasonal temperature variation is also fundamental to the maturation of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar in the estate’s attics.
Vinificazione
La Rampata forms part of a five-estate vineyard holding cultivated entirely under certified-organic management. Before conversion, the vineyards followed sustainable integrated pest-management principles intended to reduce interventions, respond to field evidence and maintain biological and economic equilibrium rather than applying treatments according to a fixed calendar.
Organic conversion required at least three years and formal inspections. Synthetic plant-protection products and fertilisers were abandoned, and certification was obtained in 2021. Concerto’s 2020 harvest was the first certified-organic vintage from its La Rampata vineyard.
The vineyard-management system includes fertilisation plans based on soil analysis, current soil sampling, irrigation plans prepared by the company agronomist, and recording of rainfall, weather information, irrigation volumes and intervention dates. Plant-protection decisions consider field observations, regional organic and integrated-production bulletins, and forecasting models issued by the provincial plant-health consortium. Grape maturity is analytically monitored before harvest to determine picking dates.
Biodiversity monitoring across the family estates evaluates water, soil and lichen indicators. Part of the organic material left from winemaking is converted into natural fertiliser and returned to vineyards to help maintain soil fertility.
Grapes from La Rampata are processed at the Medici Ermete cellar in Gaida, a few kilometres from the vineyards. The production facilities have been progressively renewed, and the technologies used for the estate’s single-vineyard wines have evolved as the vineyard expanded.
The estate supplies fruit for two documented production approaches. Concerto undergoes fermentation in stainless-steel tanks. Granconcerto and Unique use traditional secondary fermentation in bottle; current releases remain on their lees for 30 months, while a limited Unique release was matured on its lees for 52 months. Granconcerto is produced only in selected vintages.
Production protocols are designed to limit water and energy consumption and regulate the use of oenological additives and processing aids. Organic procedures apply to all wine handled at the production site to prevent cross-contamination. Cleaning systems include CIP equipment for the filler filter and carbon-dioxide regulation system, while bottles are cleaned automatically using well water microfiltered to 0.1 μm.
Filosofia
The approach at La Rampata connects the identity of wine to its place of origin and treats the land as the starting point of production. The family’s quality programme is based on careful grape selection, controlled yields, continuing technological improvement and agricultural practices intended to respect natural equilibrium.
Sustainability is framed as a long-term responsibility to pass the land to future generations in better condition. The wider programme addresses environmental, ethical-social and economic sustainability, combining organic farming, biodiversity monitoring, circular use of winery by-products and formal management standards.
La Rampata also functions as a meeting place where wine is placed in dialogue with agriculture, art, culture, tourism and contemporary social questions. The Medici per il Territorio project is built around the principle that reflection should lead to practical action and greater value for the surrounding community.