Italy is a land famous for its rich cultures of food, wine, and history, enveloped by awe-inspiring and varied landscapes. Few regions display the intersections of all this more than the North-Central region ofEmilia-Romagna, stretching east-to-west across Italy . While considered legally a single entity, locals and travelers alike will agree, that there is a very large cultural divide between what is considered ‘Emilia’, the eastern half, and ‘Romagna’ (RO-MANYA), the western half. The peoples, ‘Emiliani’ and ‘Romagnoli’ (RO-MAYN-OLI) are often lumped together, as if one and the same. However, there are distinct differences between the two subcultures. To give you an idea, a common legend in the area is that if a traveler is thirsty and knocks on a stranger’s door in Emilia, they will be offered water, but Romagna, they will be offered wine. So, let’s virtually explore Romagna, what do you say?

Ciao Ciao Ciao Romagna!

Traipsing through Romagna, one’s first impression is not just how much agriculture there is in the area, but also the varied landscape that Romagna offers. From the Adriatic sea, to plains, to hills and mountains, Romagna has a little bit of everything, and a lot behind the scenes that may surprise you with its rich history and distinctive culture.

Nestled among cities, villages and countryside of Romagna, is a wealth of history, much related to Romans, so much so that it’s name derives from ‘terra dei Romani’ or ‘land of the Romans’. In Romagna, there are so many Roman artifacts and ruins, you can pass by them and not take notice. So many churches and monuments up to 2000 years old are spread throughout the area without swarms of tourists around. And you know the phrase ‘crossing the Rubicon’ coined by Julius Caesar? It refers to the Rubicon river which flows east-west in Romagna.

But why so much Roman history in this area so distant from Rome? This is because the Roman empire was actually split in two for a large period, divided between the east and the west. For a large part of Roman history, the Romagna city of Ravenna was the seat of the Eastern empire. This led to the area being peppered with Roman cities and sites, that are now interwoven with modern day cities and fields. As the empire collapsed, new structures were built using Roman stones, or some were repurposed into churches.

This is the case with the church ‘Pieve of Monte Sorbo’, found above the Monte Sasso vineyards of Braschi winery. Built in 1 AD, it was originally pagan, and converted into a church in the medieval era. On the exterior walls of this church is a relief carving of a dove with grapes. This curious white stone shows how even 2000 years ago, agriculture and wine were an important part of society. In fact, this ancient church and dove & grapes symbol was the inspiration for Braschi winery in Romagna to show this symbol on labels for many of their wines, including those produced from grapes in Monte Sasso near Monte Sorbo.

The Romagnoli people are enterprising, outgoing and friendly, always ready to share and chat. The 3 values that they hold dear are family, friends and being true to your word. When you get to know the families, you find out that the Romagnoli have a predominant matriarchal society, with women typically running the households and farms. The famous ‘La Dolce Vita’ Italian film director Federico Fellini was a Romagnolo and many of his films reflect his Romagna roots, especially his film Amarcord, a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama which takes place in a small town near Rimini, a seaside city in Romagna.

The Wines of Romagna and The Braschi Boys

Braschi winery was founded by the Braschi family as a passion project in 1949. (Fun fact, Nicoletta Braschi, who played the wife of Roberto Benigni in the Italian Oscar winning film Life is Beautiful, and is Roberto’s wife in real life, is part of the family that founded this winery).

Then came along Davide Castagnoli and Vincenzo Vernocchi, who are both Romagnoli born and bred, and proud about what Romagna has to offer. They had the opportunity to buy the winery in 2010, which combined their passion for the territory and what it had to offer. Based in Mercato Saraceno, Braschi winery is situated between the Adriatic Sea and Apennine mountains just north of Romagna’s border with Tuscany. Davide and Vincenzo, the ‘Braschi Boys’ which we like to call them, craft wines that are as authentic as the local scene, made with native grapes from the area and keeping to tradition as much as possible.

Braschi’s wines represent the variety of Romagna’s landscape for winemaking.

First, are their wines from Monte Sasso, in the mountains, just north of Tuscany. Monte Sasso single vineyard Sangiovese (near the Monte Sorbo church) is up high at 1000 feet and with many 50 year old vines. The Sangiovese grape is very site sensitive and the Monte Sasso Sangiovese is high in acidity and has soft tannins, having similar characteristics to a Pinot Noir. Another interesting wine from Monte Sasso with a really cool story behind it is Braschi’s Monte Sasso Famoso White Wine. Considered once extinct, the Famoso grape was rediscovered in 2000 by local farmer Montalti when he found unfamiliar grape vines on his property. Despite there being many Famoso producers today, Braschi’s Famoso is the only one making Famoso from this original vineyard!

Then moving northward to a lower altitude with rolling hills and closer to the sea is Bertinoro. The Bertinoro area today is known for its sangiovese red wines, however it was not always so. In fact, the word Bertinoro comes from ‘bere oro’, meaning ‘to drink gold’. It was coined by Galla Placidia, the daughter of a Roman Emperor and mother to another Emperor who lived in Ravenna and Romagna in 400 AD. She was drawn to ‘Bertinoro’ because of the white Albana grape grown in the hills… a grape so loved by Galla that she said it was like drinking luxurious liquid gold.

Like the Grechetto Gentile white wine grape, which you can read about here in another blog article of ours, Albana is a white wine grape that behaves like a red grape. The first white grape to gain DOCG status in Italy, it has a thick skin which imparts the gorgeous, deep bright yellow color that Galla Placidia loved so much. We sell 3 types of Braschi Albana wines, all single vineyard from Campo Mamante, just east of Bertinoro:

• Braschi’s Organic Dry Albana, with racy acidity, great with seafood, of which there is a lot in Romagna as it borders the Adriatic Sea,

• Braschi’s Organic Sweet Albana, which is the traditional way of making Albana, going back to Roman times, think Galla Placidia. Thanks to the acidity of this grape, the sweet version is light and balanced,

• Braschi’s Albana in Amphora Orange Wine which is aged in terracotta amphorae with 6 months of skin contact on the lees, resulting in intense and unusual aromas and a structured and dense palate.

Last but not least, are Braschi’s Sangiovese red wines from Bertinoro, specifically those from Braschi’s single vineyard Costone. Compared to Monte Sasso Sangiovese, Costone Sangiovese red wines are more ‘meaty’ and tannic, think more Cabernet-like, compared to the softness of Pinot Noir-like Monte Sasso Sangiovese. We sell 2 Costone Sangiovese wines:

• Braschi Organic Costone Sangiovese Superiore 2017 , a savory and fruity red wine

• Braschi Costone Sangiovese Riserva 2015, with notes of forest fruit jam, smooth and tannic structure, and long finish.

While you’re contemplating purchasing Brachi’s wines, which you can buy direct from our website, consider planning a romangolo feast at home and try your hand at making passatelli pasta, a romagnolo tradition. We got a recipe for you here.

Want to taste a little bit of Romagna? Check out these two virtual events:

• Meet and taste with the Braschi Boys, Vincenzo, the winemaker and Davide, along with sommelier Ruth Ryberg.

• Learn some Romagnolo Farm-to-Table dishes live from Romagna with Chef Riccardo and pair them with Braschi wines.

At both events we will be tasting the three wines from Braschi Tasting Set. Order your Tasting Kit with shipping included today and taste along with us and the winemaker at these fun events planned in May.