{"title":"Formiche","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat happens when three winemakers team up with an agronomist? Perhaps the most exciting new wine project in all of Tuscany! Formiche is composed of four friends: Simone, Gigi, Dylan, and another Simone. The four had crossed paths many times while working for various projects around the world and found themselves all back home in Tuscany around the same time. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt all started out with 2 day weekend reunions where everyone would bring their favorite wine to taste blind over dinner. These weekends, filled with conversation and laughter, solidified their friendships while at the sametime sparked a realization among them that they shared many of the same values, goals and tastes when it came to wine. They soon decided, at one of these somewhat boozy weekends, to continue a journey they had unconsciously started years ago. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat became clear to them was that this new project would be focused on a single variety, Ansonica. If you have never heard of it before it's no surprise. An ancient late-ripening variety that has been planted on the Tuscan coast and its nearby island since the 11th century, Ancsonica was considered too rustic by modern enological standards and has been ripped out with abandon to make way for aromatic and trendy varieties. What is lost on may is that this golden hued variety expresses the terroir of the Tuscan coast more clearly than any other. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey chose the name Formiche because of its double meaning. It is the name of a group of very small islands just off the coast of Tuscany, paradise of marine biodiversity. It also means ant and they were drawn to the insects cooperative nature and incredible strength. After a name was chosen the harder than expected work to find the vineyard began. Very little Ansonia is still in the ground and they were specifically looking for old vines grown on very light sandy soil and not on the more common clay. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a couple of years they finally struck gold in a small town called Capalbio just south of Maremma coast. Here cool sea breezes mitigates the warm summer temperature and helps keep the vines healthy. The two hectare parcel they found was in pretty bad shape and so with their hands, pruning shears, and a huge amount of courage, they brought the vineyard back to life. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTheir vineyards are now the picture of health and biodiversity. Red, sandy soils with abundant marine deposits are kept healthy with cover-crops and green manure. Only copper, sulfur and herbal teas are used, at minimum dosages and only when strictly necessary. They want to strive for the natural equilibrium of the plants and see themselves and their vineyard as part of a broader ecosystem. This holistic approach has paid off in dividends as they couldn't be happier with the quality of fruit that these old vines are now producing. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHarvest is painstaking. Grapes are evaluated and picked plant-by-plant, in order to only take bunches when they are ready. In the cellar, unnecessary interventions are avoided. Their goal is to induce a natural evolution of the wine in order to produce in the cellar what the vintage gave in the vineyard. Fermentations are spontaneous, whole bunches are gently pressed, no clarifications or fining, and sulfur added only as necessary. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFormiche is producing wine that speaks directly to the history of Coastal tuscany. They are helping to preserve a centuries old tradition by producing wine that is nakedly transparent evoking so many qualities of the Mediterranean. Fresh, savory and textural, these examples of this ancient variety are perhaps the best around.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/formiche.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}