Podere Sassi

Altitude | 300 metres

Soil | Dark and light clay with iron-rich earth

Approach | Natural, unfiltered, wild yeast, no added sulphites

Podere Sassi sits in a beautiful little spot in Lazio, on the border with Umbria, overlooking the lower valley of the Sabina region. ‘Podere Sassi’ means the ‘Sassi family farm’, from which many of the ingredients are sourced for their very own bakery and restaurant in Rome, Panificio Nazzareno. This is postcard Italy, a place of hilltop villages, medieval castles and tiny vineyard plots - and a place where the grape Ciliegiolo is king. Since 2000, led by Leonardo, the Sassis have also looked to revive the vineyards of their family home and planted 3.5 hectares but not all these vines are ready yet. For now, they rely on an old friend and neighbour for half of the fruit. They only produce a limited number of their six handmade wines that are as natural as natural can be. Their orange wine, ‘A Piccoli Passi 2019’, totaled no more than 600 bottles.

‘Portami Via’ means ‘take me away’ and represents what winemakers Fabio and Leonardo felt while making this red. ‘Evivva’ means ‘hooray’ or ‘cheers’, and symbolises the joyous cry Leonardo envisaged for this, his first sparkling wine, on popping the crown cap. ‘A Piccoli Passi’ roughly translates as ‘baby steps’ and Leonardo says this is his motto in life, “It is my way of facing this love for the countryside and for wine. It is the desire to always learn and improve myself but without wanting to exaggerate or upset nature. It is knowing how to wait with trust and faith, work well and wait for the fruits. It is not wanting to be a particular character winemaker at all costs but to keep my being and move forward, in small steps”. ‘I Sogni’ means ‘dreams’ and no surprises why Leonardo chose this word for his silky smooth Sangiovese. ‘Corragio’of course means ‘courage’ and this wine speaks of the will of Leonardo and his family to take the plunge into making natural wines that are free from flavour-fixing additives, preservatives and synthetic chemicals. It’s an endeavour which can be pretty risky for any winemaker but then everything made with risk and courage tastes different in all the best ways.