Fattoria Villa Ligi

Cantina e Vini

Fattoria Villa Ligi winery has been making wine from local grapes for over a century in the Marche region of Italy.

Between mountains and the Adriatic coast, not far from Urbino, in the little town of Pergola, the Tonelli family span four generations of winemakers. The owner Francesco Tonelli, an agronomist and sommelier, decided to leave his job as a teacher in 1985 to dedicate himself completely to viticulture and wine making following his family’s tradition. Francesco searched for rare and old vines such as the Vernaccia Rossa, a scientifically approved clone of Aleatico grapes, and reproduced them by specialised nurseries. He also helped to establish the tiny "Pergola" appellation: a total vineyard area of barely 45 hectares with only a few producers.

The Tonelli family has a old wine making tradition. In 1912, Francesco 's grandfather, Antonio, started making wine from his vines planted in rows between wheat fields in Pergola. This became a tradition that was followed and implemented by Cesare, Francesco’s father, and is now continued by Francesco’s son Stefano, an oenologist, who, after having worked for a few wineries in Australia, is now managing the Villa Ligi winery with passion and dedication, together with his partner Lea Pailloncy, a French oenologist who studied in Burgundy, France and worked overseas for a few years.

It was not easy to build good exposure for a vine that was disappearing, further accentuated by the fact that the DOC Pergola is a very small DOC. Francesco and Stefano, with their passion, have contributed substantially to increase the Pergola profile. The winery produces the DOC Colli Sangiovese and the DOC Bianchello del Metauro as well, a very dynamic and promising denomination based on a white grape that is producing a fruity and fresh wine.

Today Fattoria Villa Ligi has more than ten different labels, a significant achievement for the winery and the result of a process of continuous evolution. Fattoria Villa Ligi aims to do something different but always with a close connection to the Pergola area and its heritage. Respectful of the land, the 30 hectares of vineyards and the 4,5 hectares of visciola trees are fully managed in organic agriculture.