CINQUE CAMPI | EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Vigneron: Vanni Nizzoli
Location: Emilia, Italy
Size of Domaine: 8 Ha
Terroir: Clay with Sand & Silt
Viticulture: Ecocert

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Vanni Nizzoli is a wine artisan and trained oenologist, considered by many to be a benchmark producer of Lambrusco, following a 200-year tradition of natural winemaking on his family’s modest homestead in Emilia-Romagna. Here, he works in the same cellar as his Grandfather, built after returning to Italy who had spent some years producing cider in Brittany after the war.

The domaine here is unlike any other in the region. A combination of extremely rare ungrafted indigenous varieties planted in 1948, international varieties planted in 2000 and a diverse selection of varieties of Lambrusco. A combination of these incredible vines and Vanni’s technical understanding, supported by generations of experience, makes these some of the most revered wines in the region, with a lighter touch than most and with signature elegance that few can achieve.

The winemaking at Cinque Campi has always been natural. Vanni added sulphur (2g/L) when he took production to a “commercial” level in 2000. It was after a chance encounter with Jean-Pierre Robinot the same year who offered a question that resonates with him today: “Why bother if you are adding so little?”. Naturally, Vanni stopped. The ingredients are and will continue to be 100% grapes.

Everything at the farm is bottled on a falling moon, following the local proverb “Luna Calante Vino Spumante” (Waning Moon – Sparkling Wine). He disgorges in phases throughout the year, with a personal limit of 600 bottles per session. The work is taxing and carried out entirely by hand. This is a labour of love, with the help of his mother and father, who support him regularly throughout the vintage. Even Flavio, Vanni’s young son’s paintings, are featured on the Lambrusco Rosso and Terbianc. A family business through and through.

Alongside a diverse offering of wines, we are pleased to offer Cinque Campi’s Condimento, an award-winning Balsamic aged for no less than 12 years. We are lucky to have this without the DOCG certification, allowing us to share this with you all at a less inflated price than it can often reach. For those with a sweeter tooth, we have the Saba to accompany this, a cooked must, without age, which tradition dictates should be drizzled over snow.