Mirco Mariotti
Bosco Eliceo, Emilia Romagna, Italy
Formerly a biologist, Mirco Mariotti inherited his father’s vineyards in 2009. The vines are located some 300 meters from the Adriatic Sea, west of Ferrara in Emilia Romagna. This region falls under the Bosco Eliceo DOC, the only DOC with a grand cru for the grape Fortana, which also grows in Mariotti’s vineyards. They have a long tradition of frizzante, made in the ancestral method from 100 year old vines. Some of them are even planted on the beach. This region is also known to be very laid-back, where locals are on the beach, eating piadina romagnola (grilled flatbreads), drinking frizzante and playing beach and card games. Mirco named his wines after these card games. Sèt e Mèz being some sort of Blackjack and Smarazen being a sort of Rummy game.
Mariotti’s vines are planted in the Fortana grand cru area. They grow in sandy soils and are non-grafted, remaining on their original rootstock. Mariotti uses a technique of layering the new shoots, bending them under the ground for them to shoot up like new vines. Under his vineyard now lies a gnarly web of interconnected vines over one hundred years old.
Healthy, organic, grapes are the foundation of Mariotti’s wines. These are hand-picked early October, providing a higher acidity content. The pressed must is left to macerate for a day or two after which fermentation lasts for about two weeks in stainless steel tanks. Then the wine is transferred into concrete tanks to wait until the botteling. During the botteling, some fresh must is added to the wine in order for a second fermentation to start in the bottle. These are wines with character, slighlty saline and savoury with notes of ripe fruit. Start dealing the cards!
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