Estate Owned by: Andrea Ceci | Winemaker: Pierluigi Lorenzetti | Agronomist: Pierluigi Lorenzetti | Viticulture Method: Organic | Extension: 25 hectares | Estate Founded: 1960 | Winery Production Total: 150.000 Btls.

The company was founded by Umberto Ceci immediately after World War II.  He bought a small plot of land in the Battinebbia district, in San Paolo di Jesi, where the winery is still located today. In 1952 Umberto gave the vineyard to his son Amato and his wife Maria. With continuing passion, the couple’s son Maurizio, with his wife Serenella, launched the Vignamato project for the production of quality wines.  They changed the name from Ceci to Vignamato to honor Maurizo’s father, Amato -- a play on words between Amato’s name and his love for the vineyard. Today the fourth generation, Alessandra, Andrea and Francesco, is running the company, maintaining the family’s dedication to the business. Vignamato currently manages approximately 27 hectares, recently undergoing organic conversion, and divided into seven different plots located in the municipalities of S. Paolo di Jesi, Staffolo and Cupramontana, in the heart of the southern slopes of the Esino Valley. The original vineyards in Battinebbia have been extended to encompass plots with alternating prevalence of clay or sand soils, but with the same richness of limestone and altitudes ranging between 220 and 500 meters. By vocation and through the family’s personal choice, the vineyard is almost entirely dedicated to verdicchio, with some small concessions to the traditional local red grapes: montepulciano, sangiovese and lacrima. In addition, the particular cross clone Bruni 54, a grafting of Verdicchio and Sauvignon created by Marche enologist Professor Bruno Bruni in 1936, was planted with a high planting density of 6500 plants per hectare. In the cellar, tradition is combined with innovation, thanks to modern technology, to achieve higher quality standards. Finally, the company also produces an extra virgin olive oil and, as part of their eco-compatible practices, a project relating to educational farming was also recently launched.