Jacopo Stigliano

Jacopo is a well-travelled lover of life and people, and even spent a year studying sociology at UCC here in Cork. He returned home to Valsamoggia, in the Apennine foothills of Emilia-Romagna, almost a decade ago, embarking on this significant project to preserve the millennia-old winemaking traditions of his region and the autochthonous varieties that grow in the valley's ancient vineyards. Restoring three hectares of old, co-planted vines on the lower part of the valley from abandonment, Jacopo's work preserves the vanishing viticultural practices of his home, with his approach in the vineyard and cellar deeply informed by the work of his mentors Antonio Ognibene, Giorgio Erioli, and Vittorio Graziano. The vineyards he tends were planted at a time before the prescriptions of industrialised farming swept the region, where each variety had a dedicated role in the balance of the vineyard and in the wine itself. Today, it’s rare to find many of these varieties growing anywhere, let alone beyond the crest of this valley. Jacopo prefers to pick everything at once, allowing each wine to ferment and age in one large mass, just as it would have been done when these vines were first planted.