Zeoli Family

The Fattoria Monticino Rosso is a family-run farming business. It was established in 1965 when Antonio Zeoli bought his first thirteen-hectares nucleus, named "Olmo" small farm. In the following years his sons Luciano and Gianni, who are now both leading the business, came up beside Antonio, and in 1985 the family acquired the twenty-four-hectares "Monticino Rosso" small farm, beside the first one and after which the whole farmstead will be named.
The Farm rises among the hills of Imola, next to the border with the town of Dozza, where the production of the sparkling wines from Emilia gives way to the firm and wild wines from Romagna. “Monticino Rosso” was already clearly identified in the cadastral acts edited during the Napoleonic era under the name of “Monticino dei meli granati” ("the pomegranates' hill") and for a century at least was owned by the noble Imolese family Codronchi Torelli, whose wealth and culture allowed for the landscape to be shaped harmonically.
And is with gratefulness towards those who had the privilege to own and love these lands, preserving in them the cultivation of the grapes of tradition, that Luciano and GIanni Zeoli had wanted to give to one of their most significant wines, the selection of dry Albana di Romagna, the name of “Codronchio”.

L'enologo Dr. Giancarlo Soverchia

Business Philosophy

The Fattoria Monticino Rosso is today a thirty-seven-hectares farming business, of which 20 vined, with more programmed; the other hectares covered in orchards.
For a few years a careful farming transformation has taken place in order to address the farming of the vines towards high quality, in uttermost respect of the characteristics of the soil and climate of the region, using modern techniques and with a critical look at tradition, which allows to safeguard the peculiarity carried by centuries of viticulture in Romagna.
the ideal location among the hills favours this project of sustainability and artisanal production of wine, as well as the choice to mainly reply on local vines: Albana, Pignoletto and Sangiovese di Romagna. In the year 2000 the winery was relocated from its original position in the "Olmo" small farm to its current one, in "Monticino Rosso", in a new and ample structure, outfitted with modern oenological equipment.
The new winery is our pride, a declaration of love to our land. It was born and conceived as "home of the wine" and was built not only to optimize the transformation phases of our grapes, but also to welcome visitors and put them directly in contact with our wine, by offering a discovery tour of our property, through all the phases of production.
From the top of the hill it dominates the valley, with the vines all around that slowly clamber up the sides, drawing a softly shaped landscape, caressed by a fresh breeze, that keeps the grapes healthy.
On one side we find all the equipment to vinify, with tanks and barrels on show and on the other side we have the place where grapes are received, entirely covered by an ample roof in glulam beams. The real surprise however is underground, where the beating heart of the winery hides, which is the fermentation room, the cellar for barrels and the storage of the aging bottles. The idea to build an underground cellar was born out of the concrete necessity to minimize the environmental impact of our work and the waste of electric energy, but at the same time was our wish to create a vital space for the wine in harmony with nature.
Indeed, over the structure was built a "garden-roof", with the double aim to preserve the outside landscape and create an ideal microclimate indoors. Although everything is "naturally" isolated, modern machinery with a low energy consumption have been installed to control the temperature and humidity. All to create a wine-path that operates on three floors: we didn't hide anything from our production, as it is our wish to show our work, the effort and passion, the life of the wine, from the grapes to the bottle.
We didn't omit anything to make of the winery a place of work and a place to welcome visitors, a real place, where all the materials we used resonate with the wine, for example the steps that lead to the barrels cellar and all the railings come from the wood of old barrels.
As a last note and we say this with most pride, with this further upgrade we've managed to rationalize and accelerate the times and procedures of the vinification, safeguarding the perfumes and tastes of the grapes, which are employed immediately after being harvested in small boxes. We reiterate this way our link to the land: by offering a wine that comes first of all from a careful work in the vineyard, from a production as natural as possible and that shows the potential of these wonderful pristine hills. On the strength of these premises and thanks to the expert advice of oenologist Giancarlo Soverchia, the project Monticino Rosso has then become real in these recent years with ambition and coherence, and Luciano and Gianni Zeoli certainly mean for it to keep growing towards a goal of excellence.