<p>La Distesa is located in San Michele, just outside of the picturesque <glossary title="322">commune</glossary> of <glossary title="1225">Cupramontana</glossary> in the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1226">Marche</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It's founder, Corrado Dottori, is originally from the area but was raised in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="660">Milan</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Returning to his family’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 <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 <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. <br />
<br />
The region is best known for the wines of <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 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> At first Corrado hired a winemaking consultant who used <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 <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Maule/" target="_blank">Angiolino Maule</a> and <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 <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 Distesa's website sums it up well:<br />
<br />
<em>“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.”</em><br />
<br />
We're not gonna lie: we are very excited to be representing these wines on a national level.</p>
<p><u><strong>November 10th, 2020:</strong></u></p>
<p>It has been a very long <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary> for us. We begun august 14th in <glossary term="Marsala" title="633">Marsala</glossary> (for the Halara project) and finished october 19th with the <glossary term="Montepulciano Grape" title="1275">Montepulciano</glossary> in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cupramontana" title="1225">Cupramontana</glossary><span>!</span></span></span></p>
<p>Here at La Distesa we had a very big production, the <glossary term="Cluster/Bunch" title="1138">bunches</glossary> were beautiful and super safe but my sensation is that it will not be a <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> to be remembered. Obviously it’s too early to have a clear image of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but I must say that the <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermentations</glossary> are very slow and very difficult, especially for the whites. So we expect very good red and super funky whites. </p>
<p>Above you can see a photo from our last “tasting session”.</p>
<p>Thanks and big hugs,</p>
<p>La Distesa is located in San Michele, just outside of the picturesque <glossary title="322">commune</glossary> of <glossary title="1225">Cupramontana</glossary> in the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1226">Marche</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It's founder, Corrado Dottori, is originally from the area but was raised in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="660">Milan</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Returning to his family’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 <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 <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. <br />
<br />
The region is best known for the wines of <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 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> At first Corrado hired a winemaking consultant who used <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 <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Maule/" target="_blank">Angiolino Maule</a> and <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 <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 Distesa's website sums it up well:<br />
<br />
<em>“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.”</em><br />
<br />
We're not gonna lie: we are very excited to be representing these wines on a national level.</p>
<p><u><strong>November 10th, 2020:</strong></u></p>
<p>It has been a very long <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary> for us. We begun august 14th in <glossary term="Marsala" title="633">Marsala</glossary> (for the Halara project) and finished october 19th with the <glossary term="Montepulciano Grape" title="1275">Montepulciano</glossary> in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cupramontana" title="1225">Cupramontana</glossary><span>!</span></span></span></p>
<p>Here at La Distesa we had a very big production, the <glossary term="Cluster/Bunch" title="1138">bunches</glossary> were beautiful and super safe but my sensation is that it will not be a <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> to be remembered. Obviously it’s too early to have a clear image of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but I must say that the <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermentations</glossary> are very slow and very difficult, especially for the whites. So we expect very good red and super funky whites. </p>
<p>Above you can see a photo from our last “tasting session”.</p>
<p>Thanks and big hugs,</p>