Fratelli Pardi, from wine to fabrics and back

The story of entrepreneur Francesco Pardi, a well-known textile producer from Umbria, is a lovely Italian success story. His creations and those produced by his factory are found throughout Italy and in many foreign countries thanks to the quality of the cloths and the originality of his home furnishing designs. And yet he is the first to point out that his family were originally farmers and their first success was in the wine sector. There is evidence of this dating back to 1922 and continuing in the decades that followed. The winery was shut down after the war when the family focused on fabrics and it was not revived in the 1990s.

The winery is more rational and functional than beautiful. Inside there are excellent thermo-controlled vats that range between 25 to 50 hectoliters in size. They are of different sizes in order to keep the various musts separate and allow the estate to better understand the differences between the various grape varieties and soils. The soils, in fact, differ in regard to both the lay of the land and altitude. In 2008, they created the product that impressed us the most: Sacrantino (the spelling with the ‘’c’ is intentional). This is only produced in the best years using Sagrantino grapes grown in a fairly loose soil with little chalk situated on a hill not far from the estate itself. The total vineyard area is some 11 hectares of which eight are owned by the estate and three are leased. They also produce an interesting Trebbiano Spolentino produced using a classic style.

In the winery there is a good balance between the 250 and 300-liter containers but they are increasing using 25-hectoliter barrels, a choice not as foregone as you might expect but which, judging by the Sacrantino 2010, is producing satisfying results. But then one should never question the choices an estate makes, above all when it involves their style.

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