While analyzing wines in his wine lab, Giorgio Mariotti discovered the uniqueness of the sandy soils and the ungrafted vineyards of the Bosco Eliceo region. So he started winemaking on the side and later got more and more into making his own wines. In 2009 Barbara and Mirco took over the winery from their parents, which included some historic vineyard sites dating back 1000 years. Nowadays, they focus primarily on wines made in the ancestral method called "Col Fondo" in Italy, which is similar to the way the French Petillant Naturel is made.
After they hand-harvest the grapes during the first weeks of September, they press the grapes softly and then let them ferment in concrete tanks. Contrary to the French Pet Nat, they usually add a little bit of grape juice to get the fermentation going in the bottle. This takes about 60 days, after which it continues to age for a couple more months until it is sold. The name Smarazen comes from the local card game "Sbarazzino" to suggest how you should consume this wine. May I recommend to have it with some simple antipasti and a card or board game. Mario would be happy.