Every few weeks, Guido Zampaglione gets into his car and drives through the night from Gamalero in southern Piedmont to Calitri, in the hills east of Avellino. 894 kilometres lie between the two places, but what wouldn't you do for a great love - and it seems to be unconditional between Guido and Fiano, the grape variety for which he takes on all the hardships. Until not so long ago, he used it to make the legendary Don Chisciotte together with his uncle, but a few years ago the joint project fell apart. Instead of throwing in the towel, he decided to counter the knight with a new Fiano in memory of Sancho Panza, without fear or reproach from his uncle. The vines are planted at an altitude of 800 metres, which results in a relatively long growing season and a cool structure, even in hot central Campania. In the cellar, he relies on similar virtues to his Piedmontese wines: spontaneous fermentation, no temperature control and long maceration times, only the ageing (in this case in steel tanks) is somewhat shorter.
Crystal clear, salty, citrus, stones, flowers. At least at first. As with any good wine, after a while new flavours are added and others are subtracted. So you can drink it again and again. And what else? The tannins add pressure, the acidity steers and accelerates the closer you get to the palate and overall the Sancho Panza - contrary to what the name suggests - is straightforward, elegant and focussed.
Data sheet
Grape variety: Fiano
Vineyard: at 800 m. in Calitri
Harvest: by hand
Vinification: spontaneous | wild yeasts; maceration days
Ageing: one year in steel tanks, followed by a good year in the bottle
Filtration: no
SO₂: < 30mg/l
Alcohol content: 13%
Closure: Natural cork
Drinking temperature: 10-12°C
Perfect drinking maturity: from now - 2028
Format and price per litre: 0.75l/€ 33.20/l
Maxime: All winegrowers listed on Vinonudo work with compost, organic fertilisers and natural preparations in their vineyards and refrain from using herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilisers.
