Tenuta Mara, the biodynamic wine estate in San Clemente Rimini, in the heart of Italy, achieved the aspired CasaClime – Wine certificate. A very demanding protocol, specifically envisaged for wineries, characterized by very high standards, which evaluate both the building envelope and the use ecological materials, attention to energy sources and water management.
The journey took about four years and involved many consultants. Tenuta Mara is therefore the first wine estate in Emilia-Romagna to achieve this prestigious certification, and is certified at 5th place in Italy among the wine estates, which culminated the delicate process of accreditation.
Not bad for a project born from a dream, Giordano Emendatori’s dream, successful businessman in the food sector, and brought to life thanks to the fundamental support of agronomist Leonello Anello and winemaker Leonardo Pironi, the actual conductor of the wine estate, who after having trodden on French territory searching for a comparable experience, helped bring about Tenuta Mara.
You can find Tenuta Mara in San Clemente, on the hills of Rimini, in the heart of central Italy, in a unique place, where the tone of green prevails, actually the green, intended as an ethical and environmental manifest, applied literally.
Certifiably Biodynamic
A recognizable architectonic identity is inserted into every element and blends the aesthetic needs harmoniously and functionally, giving body to a vision, which embraces sustainability as the Supreme Being. Attention which also reflects in the minutest detail, and which dictates the line, of and but first and foremost the choice of materials.
The use of ecological material and the struggle against loss of heat and energy are associated with the use of alternative energy sources. The “batteries” of Tenuta Mara are found in the subsoil, where geothermal systems are preserved, 15 wells which are 150 meters deep for an ef cient exchange of heat, and up above, on the pitched roofs of every building, the stables, the resort, the housing and so on, the solar panels are positioned.
Aside from this, the 100% biodynamic product is achieved without the use of herbicides and chemical products: every year nature “writes” a different story, beginning with climatic conditions, the light, and the delicate balance of the ecosystem. This is what makes every single wine harvest at Tenuta Mara special!
Leonardo Pironi, winemaker of the Tenuta. “Every bottle is a faithful synopsis of the year in which the grape was cultivated and harvested. The spring and summer of 2014 was exceptionally rainy, and consequently the wine is very particular. The quality of Giury 2014 is thanks to the special attention which the vines received, the same attention which is dedicated to MaraMia: “We waited, when possible, for the sky to clear before harvesting” Leonardo Pironi recalls. “As per usual we harvested all the grapes by hand, devising a long sorting table on site, grape by grape. The grapes accumulated on the ground those, which had been ruined by the water. We worked with those that remained, with a yield of less than 40%. Then we placed the grapes to ferment and macerate in wooden vats, without added yeasts, for 20 days, not very long, as the skins were very thin. A year of maturation passed in oak barrels, and another 12 months of refining in bottles before we could finally taste our new Sangiovese: little quantity, but high quality”.
A second label is born
Tenuta Mara is not a simple vineyard, but a complex and complete organism, which grows and lives to the rhythm of the seasons. From when it came into being, it has been committed to the holistic principles of biodynamic agriculture: a productive agricultural practice which ethically respects the environment and labour, capable of producing foods that nourish human being as a whole – at a physical, relational and energy levels – with absolutely no use of any chemical substance. All fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides commonly used in conventional viticulture are prohibited. The unpredictability of being a unique living organism also means that any change in the variables can greatly affect the outcome of the wine.
“2014 was not an easy year for wine producers, especially for those of Emilia-Romagna, owing to unusual summer rains and a spring without much sun. Yet when things go badly, this is when the character comes out…” says Davide Marino, Tenuta Mara’s sommelier. From these changes a new wine was produced – the newly born Giury 2014, a refined biodynamic Sangiovese. The wine however, still maintains distance from its big brother MaraMia, enough to persuade the owner to create a second label, with a name, which yet again is a tribute to a woman in the family.
Today a visit to Tenuta Mara is an amazing wine experience, unique in its category; it stimulates the senses even before the central moment of the wine tasting. Able to amaze you, Tenuta Mara is a very unexpected place: the sculptures in the park, the vats which are hand painted by artists, ancient Chinese warriors guard the barrels, Mozart notes ow through the vines, one hears Gregorian chants where the wine ferments and there is a blue Fazioli Grand Piano, surrounded by glass windows overlooking the in nite horizon. With all this beauty, don’t let yourself get distracted, the main work of art here, is the wine: MaraMia, 20 thousand bottles a year of an elegant and re ned red wine, ‘Demeter’ certi ed, produced with 100% Sangiovese and meticulously following the decree of biodynamic agriculture. The results were not long in coming: for the third year, the Luca Maroni Guide described MaraMia as the best biodynamic wine in Italy.
Find out more about MaraMia and Tenuta Mara here | www.tenutamara.com