MASSARETTA

Massaretta is the red wine of the Vernero family estate — born from a blend that is the original biotype of the hills of Massa, combining Massaretta (20%), Buonamico (20%), Ciliegiolo (20%), and Sangiovese (40%) in a composition that draws entirely on the native varieties of the Candia hills at the border between Tuscany and Liguria. These are not varieties found in the mainstream Italian wine market; they are the specific agricultural inheritance of a territory whose winemaking tradition the Vernero family has maintained for over one hundred and fifty years through the exclusive use of estate grapes and native yeasts.

After fermentation in the skins of at least ten days with some refills, the wine completes fermentation for a few months in oak barrels — a relatively light oak contact that adds structure without dominating the variety's inherent character. The wine is then released in its most genuinely approachable form: agile and slender, ideal to drink young and cool.

The nose is immediately characterful: intense scent reminiscent of wet fresh grass, wisteria purple, and ripe blackberry, with a very light shade of powder that is among the most individual and most specific aromatic signatures in the UniqueWines portfolio. These are aromas of a particular landscape — the pine woods, heather, junipers, and myrtle of the Candia hills — translated directly into wine form through varieties that have grown here for generations.

On the palate, the wine is agile and slender — qualities that make it a natural partner for the lighter, more aromatic preparations of the Tuscan-Ligurian culinary tradition: meat tortelli, pasta alla boscaiola, marinated cod, beans, and cacciatora dishes all find in Massaretta a companion of genuine territorial coherence. It is best drunk young and cool — advice the estate offers directly, and the drinker should take.

Available through UniqueWines. 150+ years of Candia hills viticulture.