COMPANY
GRAPE VARIETY SPECIALISTS
CESANESE, MALVASIA PUNTINATA, ROSCIOLA AND RIESLING
Now you can again and really choose, whether to drink wines produced without respect for the land and with more than fifty additives that the law does not require to declare on the label, or healthy wines produced as in the past by the fermentation of only grapes, without adding anything, grapes obtained from an agriculture that does not use pesticides, that nourishes the soil and makes it vital. We have chosen this path.
We were two journalists of the Italian television Rai with the hobby of making vin de garage for friends and relatives. We have changed our lives, to produce wines capable of refreshing the body and mind of those who choose them. Today ours is a seven-hectare company that embraces the two neighboring municipalities of Bellegra and Olevano Romano, on the Monte Celeste chain, an hour from Rome.
Our natural wines are certified organic by Suolo e Salute Lazio. We also follow the methods of biodynamic agriculture. Through green manure and organic vegetable preparations we work to preserve the fertility of the soil, with the aim of letting the plants express themselves in their peculiarity, to obtain terroir wines, enjoyable, digestible and good. Colle Pazzo (Crazy Hill) is the name of the hill where our vineyards are located, made with local chestnut poles and vines of extraordinary biodiversity. Here we have two types of soil, one of volcanic nature, the other of Cretaceous sandstone, which give the wines complexity and freshness. We harvest the grapes by areas and at the end of each refinement we get our different types of Cesanese, Malvasia, Rosciola and Riesling.
“Walking through the rows of Olevano Romano where Piero and Lorella cultivate their Cesanese, Piero takes me to see the vineyard from different shots. No longer the vision at eye level but lower down almost to touch the earth. Down there where you can feel more intense aromas of the cover grass, neapolitan garlic, radichella of the Holy Land. Just climb a few meters, climb an apple tree, to observe it from above and feel the breeze blowing from the sea and that tastes good.”
(Gianpaolo Giacobbo, Wine Writer).
WINE
We produce only natural, ethical, organic certified wines
A wine is like a painting, its beauty stimulates those who know how to grasp it, at various levels. But in addition, a wine is a food that can only do us good if it is clean. So in the cellar we work to give voice to a simple equation: vineyard-parcel-wine. We think that we should use native yeasts, brought by grapes, therefore, we vinify and refine without the use of added substances. After manual harvesting and soft pressing, fermentation and maceration take place in cement tanks or in artisanal chestnut barrels. This is how all our wines are born.
WHITE WINES
EMOTIQ MALVASIA
White wine of Malvasia Puntinata del Lazio, and a percentage of Moscato bianco, Ottonese and Bellone. Vines grow on volcanic soils. The grapes ferment in contact with the skins for a few weeks and the wine ages in Italian chestnut barrels. Defined Orange Wine for its beautiful orange color, it is a fresh wine with pleasant tannins. Mineral and complex, its aromas are reminiscent of citrus, apricot, persimmon.
EMOTIQ RIESLING
Riesling has been bred in Lazio since time immemorial, we offer it in a dark bottle because it has great longevity. The vines grow on mixed volcanic clay soil, near a stream that makes the climate ideal. It ferments in contact with the skins and ages in chestnut barrels. Soft and structured wine, with aromas of wildflowers and honey, mineral and dynamic, has spicy and savory notes.
CONTACT US
info@cantinericcardireale.it
ROSÉ WINES
TUCUCA
Still rosé wine from Cesanese grapes, bred on volcanic and sandstone lands. Ferment in contact with the skins for a day and age in Italian chestnut barrels. It has a cherry pink color and has a range of elegant scents, from pomegranate to pink pepper, from grapefruit to almond. A special rosé, complex and at the same time graceful, with a playful, fresh and delicious drink.
DIVAGO
Sparkling rosé from Cesanese, and our special interpretation of the most traditional sparkling wine. Refermenta in its cheerful champagnotta bottle in spring. It looks like a fragrant, appetizing, thirst-quenching and festive wine. Tickle the palate with hints of strawberries, plums and raspberries. Lively and brilliant acidity.
CONTACT US
info@cantinericcardireale.it
RED WINES
COLLEPAZZO
DOC red wine that goes all over the world and photographs our hill. Grapes of Cesanese Piccolo or Affile 100%, which ferment and refine in cement to give the wine a great and easy drinkability. The vines grow both on the sandstone lands and on the volcanic lands of Colle Pazzo. In this way we obtain a spicy red, with hints of sour cherry and purple, able to amaze but also to be a daily companion.
COLLEPAZZO RISERVA
Red DOC long aging, made only in some years, with Cesanese grapes from the volcanic lands and sandstones of the Cretaceous. According to tradition, the grapes remain in contact for a month in chestnut barrels, followed by an aging of two years and another two years in the bottle. The result is a nosy Cesanese, subtle yet opulent. In this wine every part seems absolutely necessary. Hard to describe. Only 800 bottles for Italy and 800 for abroad.
CÀLITRO
Red DOC for aging, made with Cesanese grapes from the sandstone lands of our hill. Cru produced in large barrels of various steps, in a limited number of bottles. Its name in the local dialect means ‘wild oats’ that grows abundantly only in the area of its collection. It is a deep and prismatic wine, developing complex aromas of tobacco, ash, coffee, chocolate and blood orange. Soft and structured.
NECCIO
Red DOC for aging, made with Cesanese grapes from the only volcanic lands of our hill. Cru produced in barrels of various steps, in a limited number of bottles. Its name in local dialect means ‘thin and nervous’, it is in fact a Cesanese tense with marked tannins. Graceful and attractive, with its scents of rose and black cherry, cinnamon, rhubarb and pepper.
SWEET WINE
RATAFIÀ
Aromatized wine. In every family that has one, the recipe for ratafià is secret. What we can say is that ours consists of Cesanese, Visciole of our ancient trees and spices. This small Bordeaux bottled wine is an after-meal nectar, not too sweet. Wonderful together with chocolate or ricotta cakes, red fruit tarts, cream or chestnut ice creams.
CONTACT US TO BUY OUR WINES
info@cantinericcardireale.it
About us
Two jouralists who turned a dream into reality
Lorella Reale
Lorella directs the company administration and takes care of the commercial relations with Italy and Abroad. She is a journalist and sommelier F.I.S. She studied cooking at Gambero Rosso and graduated in Philosophy and Applied Ethics in Rome. She is a member of the Italian Society of Literatics and is the author of books and articles on cinema, literature and wine. Suo is the cult documentary History of the feminist movement in Italy, produced by Rai Educational and Aleph film. After filming with Piero Riccardi the investigations for the broadcast Report on the state of Italian agriculture, entitled Buon appetito, Il piatto รจ serve e Carne, together with him he decided to create a biodynamic viticulture company. Today the Cantine Riccardi Reale are a point of reference in the planetary, artistic- ethical-agricultural revolution of natural wines. Among his last books: (Aa Vv) Terra e Parole, Ebook@Women; Il talento del naso. Tre racconti, SensoInverso Edizioni; Sorsi Letterari. Vino naturale come utopia, Altravista Edizioni and in 2024 Vitis. Noi dietro di noi, Santelli editore.
Piero Riccardi
Piero is responsible for the cultivation of biodynamic vineyards and is the winemaker of the company's wines. An expert in agriculture, he made his first vegetable garden at the age of six. Author and television director, for RAI (Mixer, La storia siamo noi, Report) he decided to follow his passion for wine, in the Roman countryside family property, where before he produced only a few thousand bottles. He thus planted, with Lorella, the vineyards of Cesanese, and with the help of the agronomist Ruggero Mazzilli of the Experimental Station for sustainable viticulture of Chianti, he has created in the field innovative and high quality criteria unknown in the area. Piero takes particular care of the maintenance of biodiversity in the soils and the pruning of the vines, on which he updates at the Pruning School of Simonit&Sirch. Recent research by the Vitenova Institute has established that the vineyards of Colle Pazzo have an extraordinary presence of pollinators and conservation of species of herbs dating back to the ancient Romans. Piero is the author of articles and books on the environment, including: Riprendiamoci il cibo. Proposte per un’alimentazione responsabile; Il mondo alla rovescia. Due giornalisti di Report in viaggio tra i paradossi di un mondo globalizzato e Nel cuore del vino. Diario di un vignaiolo in tempi confusi and in 2023 L'enigma cesanese.
Curzio e Cassia Riccardi
Curzio is the farmer-artist of the house. He loves story tales and climbing. He is already dying to drive the tractor and he may have spoken his first words as soon as he was born — if we remember correctly.
Cassia loves travelling and tempera painting. She adores singing and has a passion for both pasta and cookies dough.
They designed the wine labels, graphically made by Tiziana Piccone, grafica di Roma tiziana.piccone@libero.it
Tullia Riccardi
Tullia is Piero’s daughter. She graduated in Ecobiology, she likes beers, passiti wines and making sweets.
Life in Company
Contact us
To contact us
info@cantinericcardireale.it
(+39) 347. 9245226
(+39) 335. 8063632
Company
Via Vitellia SNC
Contrada Maniella - 00030 BELLEGRA (ROMA)
Coordinate
41° 52’ 57.06’’ NORD | 13° 01’ 22.66’’ EST
Cellar
Via del Corso Snc
Località Colle Pazzo - 00035 OLEVANO ROMANO (ROMA)
Coordinate
41° 49’ 52.27’’ NORD | 13° 03’ 24.17’’ EST
How to reach us
From Rome
Autostrada A24 Roma – L’Aquila, exit Castel Madama, in direction Pisoniano – San Vito – Bellegra
Autostrada A1 Firenze – Napoli, exit Valmontone, in direction Genazzano – Olevano Romano- Bellegra
From Fiumicino Aeroporto
Autostrada A91/E80, then A90/E80, and A1 Firenze – Napoli, exit Valmontone, in direction Genazzano – Olevano Romano – Bellegra
Tasting
IN OUR TASTING ROOM IN BELLEGRA: CHOOSE FROM VARIOUS TYPES OF TASTING WHERE OUR WINES ARE MATCHED BY LOCAL FOODS.
ONLY WITH RESERVATION: MAXIMUM 20 PEOPLE - MINIMUM 2 PEOPLE
Info and reservation: info@cantinericcardireale.it
(+39) 347. 9245226 | 335. 8063632
OUR BOOKS
Lorella Reale
Vitis
Noi dietro di noi
Santelli Editore 2024
Piero Riccardi
L'enigma cesanese
iacobellieditore 2023
Piero Riccardi
Il cuore del vino
iacobellieditore 2021
Lorella Reale
Il talento del naso
Senso Inverso 2020
Lorella Reale
Sorsi Letterari
Vino naturale come utopia
Altravista Edizioni 2020
Piero Riccardi
Riprendiamoci il cibo
Inchiesta e proposte
per un`alimentazione responsabile
Ecra 2015
