Colle Formica
– Velletri, Italy
For more than a century, the family at Colle Formica has cared for a small piece of land in Velletri, about 45 kilometers south of Rome. This is the heart of the Castelli Romani, a volcanic area where wine has been made for over two thousand years.
Sergio and Maria, together with their children and grandchildren, turned the family vineyards into a working winery in 2018. They farm three hectares in total, two planted with vines and one with olive trees, fruit, and a small vegetable garden. The oldest vines are over forty-five years old. Malvasia di Candia and Trebbiano make up the white varieties, while Sangiovese and Primitivo are used for the reds.
The vineyards sit around 200 meters above sea level, on the lower slopes of the ancient Lazio volcano, between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Lepini Mountains. Everything is done by hand. There are no chemical fertilizers or weed killers, only small amounts of sulfur and copper when needed. The family believes that healthy grapes make good wine, and most of the work is done before the fruit even reaches the cellar.
In the winery, the approach is as simple as it gets. Only the best bunches are used. Fermentation takes place naturally with native yeasts, without temperature control, filtration, or clarification. Racking and bottling follow the lunar cycle. Every wine is a reflection of the season and the vineyard, nothing more and nothing less.
The family produces three white wines (Biancofiore, Formica Gialla, Arancia Atomica), two reds (Formica Rossa, Primativo), and two lightly sparkling wines (Formica Pazza Gialla, Formica Pazza Rosé). All of them show the same energy and clarity that come from volcanic soil and honest work.
Colle Formica is about patience, family, and land. The wines are straightforward, alive, and unmistakably from the Castelli Romani.
