Roots that go through time

Article by Matteo Donelli

They enter and pass through civilizations to enter others. From each perforated layer the roots absorb the culture, flavors and passions of his men. They go down to the abyss of time, even before the Romans and Tiberius. The tombs of Verucchio with the discovery of grape seeds testify that even the roots of the San Valentino vines have a terroir already widely appreciated by Villanovans and Romans for making quality wines. Jealously guarded in the private library of San Valentino, there are nineteenth-century diplomas that attest to the high quality of the products that have already risen to the honors of the local news. Yellowed documents protected by the force of time that offer interesting evidence that the cultivation of the vine was already set up with a density of 10.000 plants per hectare and already organized in rows. San Valentino was born after the war with several changes of ownership. In 1981 the farm was bought by the engineer Nanni, who built the cellar there. However, the grapes were given to the local cooperative. The big turning point for Valentine's Day will only come in the nineties. The Mascarin family first understood that those hectares of land were a cultural well of Italian winemaking. To love, protect and value. It would have been an anomalous winery management though. An adventure. More than the turnover and the balance sheets, it was the feelings that dictated the incredible evolution of Valentine's Day. The events of life as a guide for the management of his cellar. Without opposing, but being carried away by that "river of events" that have happened in the last 30 years. San Valentino is an anomalous company compared to the world of wine. A "Don Quixote" who has made his way often with the prejudices and mentality of a world, that of oenology, which wanted it to be different.  

Different from a traditional company. Different from the companies that have followed the changes for interest, marketing and passing fashions. Roberto Mascarin, founder and soul of the winery, went straight on his way without compromise and without being influenced by the fashions of the time. Up steep and bumpy climbs giving up flat and safe paths. Roberto and San Valentino are one and the same. The wines strongly reflect the emotions of a vintage of each vintage. The wines are all millisimals. Disappointments, successes and choices. Strong choices, sharp turns that often risked sinking the ship. 

Roberto Mascarin enters the world of wine as a teetotaler. The father, exclusive importer of Stella Artois beer, had taken over the winery. An "investment" that he had passed on to his twenty-year-old son Roberto. The hillside caressed by the brackish air and the blue of the Adriatic seen from that single "lookout" pay off every day of hard work in Roberto's vineyard. Land of Sangiovese. Wine of deep tradition. Strongly clayey and calcareous soil. The heart of Valentine's soil. Uniqueness and richness of minerals capable of giving the glass hints of great classics of the wine shop. First turn: to bring international vines such as Syrah and Cabernet Franc to the Rimini hills. 

 Aging for over 10 months in large wooden barrels and second passage barriques. The “Vivivan Rosso” will struggle to establish itself initially in Romagna where only Sangiovese must be produced for the “people”. Instead, international requests are exploding. It's raining top ratings from the world of Someliers. For Roberto, that "turn" will give him courage to continue listening to his intuitions but above all to his heart. There is no mention of Bio in the early 2000s. We must produce as much as possible. Sangiovese makes money when produced in large quantities. But we need fertilizers. That chemical help that makes many clusters but that slowly poisons the ground. The company is small and Roberto has a family to which he has to be accountable every month on an economic level.  

 But also to account for the smiles of the two daughters and his wife. Respect for the land that welcomes the vineyards. Relating as to an organism, the vineyards and the land must be elegant, respectful and loving. " If we know how to love by giving the utmost care, we will receive loveThought Roberto. Second turn. Hard and absolutely out of the time of fashion. Switching to a totally organic production at the beginning of 2008. In the following years the change will be rewarded only by the smiles of the family given the low production. In the following years, the San Valentino vessel risks being covered up and the death of his dear wife Valeria in 2016 is a very strong blow for the winery and its captain. In the meantime, national and European restaurants are competing to grab the bottles of "Conte di Covignano", "Luna Nuova" and the white of "Scabi Rebola".  

That oenological laboratory started thirty years ago begins to make its way into national excellence. D'Attoma and Moltard, Maradona and Pelè of national enology join the San Valentino team. Estimators from all over Europe are fascinated by the enological revolution that a very small winery was tracing. A model of success for many entrepreneurs in the sector. In 2016 the Aureli family, together with Valentina, Enrico and Alfredo, important entrepreneurs from Rimini, will join Roberto in the company structure, attracted by those glasses as rough and strong as the history of the winery. That romantic vessel, San Valentino, capable of successfully facing the strongest storms of international winemaking, is increasingly a ship of quality and experimentation. The feminine touch of the cellar remains as the imprinting of the company even after Valeria's death due to the will of Alfredo Aureli, who in addition to the great managerial experience immediately invests us in a strong emotionality in Valentine's Day. The depth of the roots solidly safeguarded by the infinite passion and love of his men.