Villa Picta

Villa Picta is a vision of exciting, vital, and personal natural wines made in the little-known province of Mantova, southern Lombardia, the only province outside of Emilia-Romagna in which the historical heart of Lambrusco can be found. Vignaiolo Paolo Pasini began the winery formally in 2018, with a few years of viticultural and winemaking practice at home in the vines starting in 2015. The current domaine size is 3.8 hectares; everything at Villa Picta is done by hand and between only three people altogether, with Paolo the main set of hands for every task.

The viticultural practices at the winery are certified organic, and rigorous emphasis is placed on practices of gentle and intelligent pruning focusing on lymph and vine health in winter, followed by multiple green passages by hand in spring. This viticultural focus aims to concentrate the deepest expression of Mantova's chilly, foggy plains climate and intensely mineral alluvial soils, given as an ancient and ongoing blessing by the river Po.

The wines themselves are a focus on the sparkling practice of rifermentato in Italy, a technique originating in the lands of Lambrusco traditionally--thus the wines are not pét-nat, neither Charmat method, but rather with a true secondary fermentation sparked in the bottle. There are three rifermentati produced at the domaine, with the winery's core bottling being Lambrusco Mantovano, 100% Ruberti, which is Mantova's special local variety in the wider Lambrusco family. There is also Lambrusco di Sorbara, Marzemino, Merlot, Garganega, Malvasia, Pinot Bianco, and more... Still wines and one metodo classico are other highlights of the work.

Paolo shares his philosophy: "We belong to the earth; the earth does not belong to us. This idea inspires all our farming--our aim is to preserve and protect the environment and the nature that surrounds us through diligent care of the vines. Lambrusco is our history and our joy, it is a heritage that we have a duty to enhance. All stages of our production aim for a high-quality viticulture that honors a manual approach in the vineyard and a genuine one in the cellar. We hope all our wines are a direct result of this mindset, in a continuous search for authenticity, craftsmanship, and real pleasure in both the work and sharing it."