About this wine
Vineyard and terroir
The grapes grow on well-exposed hills around Orvieto in the province of Terni, at 300 metres above sea level. The vines are trained using Cordon and Guyot systems on fine clay soils, with a yield of 10 tonnes per hectare.
Vinification
The grapes are harvested at full ripeness in early October. After gentle crushing and pressing, they undergo cryomaceration. Fermentation takes place at a controlled 15–17 °C with indigenous yeasts and is stopped with a fairly high level of residual sugar remaining.
Ageing
The wine rests in stainless-steel tanks until bottling.
Label / history
The House of Melini was founded in 1705 in Pontassieve, on the outskirts of Florence. Its wines were sold only in Italy until the mid-nineteenth century. In 1865, Alfredo Laborel Melini devised a woven-straw bottle covering that allowed the wines to be transported safely abroad. In 1877, the Florence Chamber of Commerce awarded the house a diploma and Gold Medal for developing and strengthening overseas markets for Tuscan wines.
In the early twentieth century, the Melini family acquired around 200 hectares of vineyards in the Chianti Classico area and built a new winery in Gaggiano di Poggibonsi, where the company remains. Melini is part of the Italian Wine Group.
