HISTORY The origins of Agricola Marrone date back over a century and through four generations. The family is focused on cultivating local grape varietals with a passionate dedication to the land. When Pietro Marrone was born in 1887, his father Edoardo was already producing wines. In 1910, at 23 years old, he asked his father to plant some vineyards. In the early 1920s/30s the winery began cultivating vineyards using techniques that were revolutionary at the time: reducing production yields to prioritize higher quality and avoiding sowing wheat between vine rows, a standard practice at the time. This decision was an early adoption of what eventually became known as modern cultivation practices widely used in the region today. In 1978 ‘Gianpi’ took over full management of Marrone and began a phase of expansion in the vineyards and the cellar space. His wife Giovanna, affectionately known as “Mamma Gio,” orchestrates private hospitality and is the kitchen director. For Giovanna, food is “tradition and Italian values that go hand with our wines.” Since 2011 the winery has been run by “Tre Fie,” the three daughters of Gian Piero and Giovanna Marrone. Valentina is the winemaker, Serena runs marketing and business operations, and Denise is the hospitality heart and manager of the visitor programs and restaurant. The farm is run with minimal intervention in the vineyard, a philosophy that carries through from harvest to winemaking. The Marrone family pays careful attention to produce wines that are elegantly structured with the potential to evolve for decades. VINEYARDS & WINEMAKING The vineyards are the heart of the Marrone property and great care is taken to ensure that the highest quality grapes are harvested vintage after vintage. The vineyards are managed with the aim of creating an ecological system that allows the vines to enjoy the best possible living conditions. The use of herbicides is avoided completely. Instead, specific mechanical tools are utilized to help the vine defend itself from pests while aerating the soil at the same time. The Marrone family does their best to minimize the leaching of the soil during storms that would otherwise strip the soil of precious mineral elements. Only organic (strictly selected) fertilizers are used to enable the soil to maintain the natural microflora that is essential to the life of the vine. All vineyard management operations are carried out exclusively by hand. Pruning is done is a way that helps to strengthen the individual vine and is followed by hand training the shoots. Thinning is the next step, which sacrifices part of the production to concentrate on the best bunches. Selective hand harvesting into perforated crates means the grapes to reach the cellar in perfect condition.
