VILLA FIDELIA ROSSO SPORTOLETTI 1999

Sportoletti is a family owned agricultural business which for several generations has relied primarily on revenue from farming. In 1979 Sportoletti decided to start producing fine wines of high quality, with the philosophy of respecting the characteristics typical of the hilly area of central Umbria.Today the company owns 50 acres of vines all situated in the hills of Assisi and Spello, an area highly regarded for its climate and for its association with the Denominazione di Origine Controllata of Assisi.Recently, Sportoletti went through a process of renewing the vines with new grape clones of Grechetto and Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Nero which is showing very promising results in Italian Oenology.The vines are followed very attentively up to their harvest, when the grapes are handpicked. The same care is taken in the cellar where the vinification takes place utilizing an air press for a soft pressing. Vinification is carried out in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and the best reds are refined in French oak. In the last few years the prominent enologist Riccardo Cotarella has consulted with the winery.The Sportoletti brothers also own 3,000 olive trees on land that is 1,600 feet in altitude, on the slope of the Monte Subasio