La Stoppa

“I want to be a custodian to the land and preserving the environment rather than imposing myself on nature was a spontaneous choice. From here the decision to farm organically was born; for a type of agriculture that contains the value of respect for the living.” - Elena Pantaleoni

La Stoppa is a 58 hectare property located on the slopes of the Trebbiola valley, in the Emilia-Romagna region, in Northern Italy. There are 30 h planted to vines, and the remaining 28 are left to nature. The whole cultivation process is done by hand, and managed according to organic methods, with a minimalist and careful approach.  The Estate was founded in the late 19th century. In 1973 La Stoppa was bought by the Pantaleoni family, and from 1991, Elena Pantaleoni leads the company. Elena, flanked by Giulio Armani, focused the work in the vineyards on organic agriculture, drastically changing the winemaking approach since her arrival. 

The naturally low yields, due to the average age of the vines and the poor soil, and the intrinsic quality of the grapes make it possible to obtain very characterised wines, born in the vineyard and transformed in the cellar through a minimalist approach. The care of the vineyard is carried out by letting the plant grow autonomously, without fertilisation or weed killers, only sulphur and copper treatments. The cultivation process is all done by hand to ensure that greater attention is given to the quality of the grape selection. Steel and cement tanks are used for the vinification of the de-stemmed fresh grapes. For the Riserva, after fermentation the wines are left for long ageing in wooden barrels and tanks, followed by a period of bottle-ageing. All of the fermentations are spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, no sulfites and at ambience temperature.