ColleStefano

ColleStefano is an agricultural estate among its own vineyards above Castelraimondo at 450 metres. The hillside hamlet of Collestefano was purchased in 1978. In 1998, Fabio Marchionni, the owners’ son and a new oenology graduate, bottled the first vintage of Verdicchio di Matelica.

Vigna Elena was the estate’s first vineyard purchase in 2008; grapes grown include Verdicchio, Sangiovese, Cabernet and Barbera. Certified organic since 1995, the estate feeds the soil exclusively with organic fertiliser, minimises copper use and introduces wild strawberry as living mulch beneath the vine rows. University students help the Marchionni family harvest entirely by hand, while the cellar supports gravity flow for all principal operations and traditional vinification. Sulphur dioxide use is minimal, well below legal limits, and its wines include Verdicchio di Matelica DOC.