Visits to wine cellars and wine tasting scheduled for the weekends on the hills of Romagna

Predappio (Fc) – Weekends will be all about wines and foods in Emilia Romagna until October at the Medieval Fort of Predappio Alta, a picturesque village in the Province of Forli’ Cesena, which will become a Sangiovese wine cellar and showcase. This medieval landmark wants to become a cult destination for wine tourism. In this enormous and intact castle, which accurate restoration work has transformed from a military outpost to a charming wine cellar, wine tourists and enthusiasts can taste and buy the entire production of Sangiovese wine produced in Predappio and discover the historical heritage of the territory. This Fort-wine cellar will be open to the public on Sunday and holiday afternoons in the month of May, September and October and the entire weekend (Saturdays and Sundays) in June, July and August. Various events have been scheduled in collaboration with the Italian Sommeliers Association Romagna Chapter, among which a series of sessions involving the wine tasting of the 10 winemakers belonging to the Promotion of Sangiovese Wine of Predappio Association.

During these wine tasting sessions, participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy the local typical foods from the famous piadina to cold meats and cheeses thanks to the Predappio Alta Local Tourism Promotion Association. Just a few meters away from the impressive walls of the fort, the vineyards extending beyond the horizon on the sunny hills of the upper Forli’ territory are a spectacular sight and complete this ideal full immersion into the most noble traditions of the Romagna wine producing activities. In fact, in these vineyards, the Sangiovese di Romagna is transformed into a great cru which represents the best of the Romagna wine producing activities and which, winemakers hope, can soon earn the title of “sottozona”, an acknowledgement given to those hill areas that are historically dedicated to the Sangiovese type of vines, preferably the R24 clone, which is typical to the Romagna region. Along the Wine Streets of Romagna, where wine enthusiasts go searching for those winemaking enterprises which have sprung up in this area to taste the wine, eat the local foods and visit the wine cellars, tourism passes through Predappio, where ten quality winemaking enterprises companies have united in a consortium to promote their splendid Sangiovese wine.

Every weekend these winemakers open up their legendary wine cellars to the public; wine cellars where enthusiasts and those who are only curious can breathe in the ancient atmosphere of austere wine barrels and dormant wine bottles and where visitors can taste and buy this great Romagna Red wine. This initiative called “The Wine Glass of Hospitality” because each enterprise offers its guests a glass of Sangiovese to welcome them, will last from April to October and it is an ideal wine tasting itinerary through the hills of Predappio. Another fundamental stop for all those wanting to have a hands first knowledge of the Predappio territory and its winemaking traditions is the Wine Museum, set up inside wine cellars dating back to the 15th century belonging to the Zoli family. This museum hosts the tools used by the rural civilization tied to winemaking and especially the “legendary” barrels and casks used by the Predappio winemakers. The owners of these tools are identified by a wooden plaque with their “nicknames” in the Romagna dialect inscribed.