At Ampeleia, we have chosen to renew the names and labels of our wines to make our identity easier to read and understand. This new visual project was created to reflect more precisely who we are today as a winery.
The new labels feature a series of essential symbols, arranged like words between four horizontal lines. These lines evoke the vertical spread of our vineyards, which are divided into four distinct growing areas across the hills of Tuscany Alta Maremma.
Four lines: the four vineyards of Ampeleia.
These four horizontal lines can be read as a small map. They represent a visual evolution, but they also tell the story of a landscape that rises and changes: from the lower fields closest to the traditional Maremma to the highest vineyards, surrounded by woodland.
At Ampeleia, we farm four separate vineyard nuclei, ranging from 200 to 600 metres above sea level. This fragmentation is not a limitation. It is a defining part of our identity.
Cannucceto: where the sea remains in the soil.
Cannucceto is our lowest vineyard and the one most closely connected to the traditional Maremma landscape. Located at 200 metres above sea level, it is rooted in clay-rich soils with deposits of silt and marine fossils.
This is a sheltered and breezy site with varied exposures, where the influence of the sea can still be felt in the soil and in the character of the grapes. Here we grow the Sangiovese that goes into Unlitro, alongside our grain fields and olive groves.
La Pieve: balance and harmony.
La Pieve is a ten-hectare vineyard situated between 300 and 350 metres above sea level. Its name comes from the small hamlet and ancient church overlooking the site.
The soils are composed of clay, pebbles, conglomerate rock and pockets of sand, giving the wines delicacy, lightness and a sense of harmony. Alicante Nero has found its ideal home here, together with Mourvèdre and Carignan. This vineyard gives life to our single-varietal Alicante Nero and to Rosato di Ampeleia.
Sassoforte: a Mediterranean breath.
Sassoforte, at 300 metres above sea level, takes its name from the highest mountain in the area, an ancient volcano. The landscape still reflects this origin: rhyolite, grey clay soils, Mediterranean scrub, myrtle, strawberry trees and cork oaks.
The vineyard is divided into several parcels facing south and south-east, where Carignan, Mourvèdre, Alicante Nero and white varieties are grown. This is where the most Mediterranean expression of Ampeleia emerges, a character that can also be found in Rosato di Ampeleia.
La Rocca: the high-elevation home of Cabernet Franc.
La Rocca is the kingdom of Cabernet Franc. The vineyard stretches from 500 to 600 metres above sea level, within a natural amphitheatre facing south and south-east, on soils of galestro, palombino and clay. Constant ventilation, a more continental microclimate and significant day-to-night temperature shifts define this site.
The grapes from La Rocca are used for all of our single-varietal Cabernet Franc wines, beginning with Ampeleia. Empatia, made entirely from Merlot, and Bianco di Ampeleia are also born here. It is the highest point of both our agricultural and visual landscape, and the place that best embodies the upward movement echoed in the new label design.
Four vineyards, one territory.
We chose to work with four distinct vineyard areas because the vineyard here is never a uniform surface. From one site to another, temperatures, ventilation and ripening patterns change. The surrounding landscape changes as well: woodland, Mediterranean scrub, open spaces and different forms of natural protection. The soils change too, moving from clay and sand to galestro, pebbles, rhyolite and many other geological expressions.
This approach is fully aligned with our style. It is more demanding to manage, requiring constant attention and a detailed understanding of every parcel. In return, it allows us to capture the nuances of our terroir more faithfully and to craft wines with greater depth, complexity and a stronger sense of place.
