Cinino Rosato

Cinino comes from Agri Segretum, the small organic estate that Lorenzo De Monaco and Eileen Holland built in Collazzone, in the heart of Umbria's Tiber River Valley, within the Todi DOC appellation. The name means young child in local dialect, and it is easily the most playful and rambunctious wine in the family's range, made from the same Sangiovese that anchors nearly everything the estate produces.

The grapes are hand-picked in late August from two hectares of vines grown on limestone and clay soils at 300 metres altitude. After a very gentle pressing that lends just a touch of colour, the juice ferments spontaneously in stainless steel using native yeasts. Once the wine reaches the right balance of sugar and fermentation activity, it is hand-bottled using the traditional metodo ancestrale, finishing its fermentation slowly inside the bottle, which is what gives Cinino its characteristic gentle fizz and occasional light sediment. No sulphites are added at any stage.

The result is bright, vivacious and thoroughly refreshing, closer to a glass of strawberry seltzer than a conventional sparkling rosé. It is a wine meant to be poured freely and enjoyed without ceremony, ideally outdoors, on a picnic table or a sun-drenched terrace, alongside charcuterie, pizza or simple Umbrian snacks. At 12% alcohol, dry and low in artifice, Cinino captures exactly the relaxed, joyful spirit its name promises.