producer profile

<p>La&nbsp;Distesa&nbsp;is located in San Michele, just outside of the picturesque <glossary title="322">commune</glossary> of <glossary title="1225">Cupramontana</glossary> in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1226">Marche</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It&#39;s founder, Corrado Dottori, is originally from the area but was raised in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="660">Milan</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Returning to his family&rsquo;s property after a previous career in finance, he and his wife established an <glossary title="79">agriturismo</glossary> in the abandoned villa of his family <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> and set about restoring their single <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> of surrounding vines.</p> <p>Corrado always knew that whatever he did with the land, the agricultural work would be&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="746">organic</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> When he began cultivating grapes, he encouraged the surrounding <glossary title="1162">biodiversity</glossary> to benefit the vines, believing that <glossary title="78">agriculture</glossary> is a living&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="414">ecosystem</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> a balance between the energy of the wild and the strengths of man. The property currently consists of 8.5 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines, six <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of barley/wheat/legumes in rotation, a couple <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of olive trees and a small vegetable garden.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> The region is best known for the wines of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1227">Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> where rolling hills, constant sun and diurnal temperature shifts form a perfect environment for&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> At first Corrado hired a winemaking consultant who used&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="331">conventional practices</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> He slowly began to question this and, inspired by pioneers like&nbsp;<a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Maule/" target="_blank">Angiolino Maule</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Ulivi/" target="_blank">Stefano Bellotti</a>, sought to making wine the way nature intended.<br /> <br /> Many producers in this region are focused on <glossary title="1071">varietal</glossary> wines, whereas Corrado prefers focusing on the characteristics of specific sectors and vineyards. He is not dogmatic in his approach to&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>:</span></span></span> <glossary title="826">biodynamic preparations</glossary> are used in the vines but he does not go for any <glossary title="882">Steiner</glossary> mysticism. Never satisfied with his efforts, his approach is honest, sensitive and intrinsically tied to the land. We find this quote from La&nbsp;Distesa&#39;s website sums it up well:<br /> <br /> <em>&ldquo;Come to think of it, my wines are just a means. The means by which I try to express myself, to represent myself in this world, to make sense of my rapid passage on earth... I would like this to be my wine. Something that speaks of Italy, of the </em><glossary title="1226"><em>Marche</em></glossary><em>, of </em><glossary title="1225"><em>Cupramontana</em></glossary><em>, of myself. Something that is poured into the glass to make people feel good. To get drunk with life. To make the vacuum a little more innocuous.&rdquo;</em><br /> <br /> We&#39;re not gonna lie: we are very excited to be representing these wines on a national level.</p>