Camillo Donati Il Mio Rosso della Bandita

If there’s someone intimately linked to the Emilia-Romagna (Italy) winemaking tradition, it’s Camillo Donati, a self-taught winemaker who, after the death of his father in 1992 and with the support of his wife Francesca's family, decided to quit his job as an accountant to devote himself fully to the family vineyard. And he does so following the responsible agricultural practices of his predecessor and recovering the refermentation techniques typical of the area. An ancestral way of winemaking where on one hand, all the white grapes, and on the other hand, all the red grapes, were brought together to produce a white wine and a sparkling red wine.

That’s why the least important thing about this Camillo Donati Il Mio Rosso della Bandita is the name of the varieties. Actually four different red fruit grapes (Barbera, Lambrusco, Malvasia and Trebbiano) are grown, harvested and pressed together to face the wonderful journey of becoming wine together. In the winery the fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts and maceration in barrels. Then the wine is bottled without filtering or fining and adding 3 grams of sugar per liter where a second fermentation will take place.

Under the IGT Emilia, Camillo Donati Il Mio Rosso della Bandita is a clear statement of intent. A fresh and rustic Petnat which vindicates ancestral know-how. So much so that it can even last 5-6 years.