Maneterra

Liguria, Italy

Photography and writing by Ted Vance.

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Short Summary

Located in Liguria’s Colli di Luni region, Maneterra was founded by Claudio Felisso, a native of the area. After training at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie in Montpellier and gaining vineyard and winery experience in Toscana, Romagna, Piemonte, France, and Chile, he returned to create his own project on the hills of Castelnuovo, Fosdinovo, and Fravizzola in the Val di Magra, a warm valley shielded from the sea and the Gulf of Spezia by Monte Caprione. In this northwest-to-southeast-facing valley, Claudio focuses on cultivating Vermentino using only copper, sulfur, and organic fertilizers and treatments. In the cellar, his hand is deft; his Vermentino kissed by the salty freshness of the sea, the citrusy zest of soft Mediterranean winds, and captures the essence of Liguria’s land and its charming, generous people.

Full Length Story

Located in Liguria’s Colli di Luni region, Maneterra was founded by Claudio Felisso, a native of the area. After training at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Agronomie in Montpellier and gaining vineyard and winery experience in Toscana, Romagna, Piemonte, France, and Chile, he returned to create his own project on the hills of Castelnuovo, Fosdinovo, and Fravizzola in the Val di Magra, a warm valley shielded from the sea and the Gulf of Spezia by Monte Caprione. In this northwest-to-southeast-facing valley, Claudio focuses on cultivating Vermentino using only copper, sulfur, and organic fertilizers and treatments. In the cellar, his hand is deft; his Vermentino kissed by the salty freshness of the sea, the citrusy zest of soft Mediterranean winds, and captures the essence of Liguria’s land and its charming, generous people. The only problem is its tiny quantity available!

Manaterra’s Vermentino is harvested from 3 different organic vineyards in Castelnuovo (west-facing), Fosdinovo (northwest), and Fravizzola (south) planted in the 1960s on the north side of the Val de Magra at 150-200m on a mix of sedimentary and metamorphic bedrock and topsoil.

In the cellar, it’s whole-cluster pressed and naturally fermented in steel, followed by an additional five months in vat before bottling without filtration or fining.