Fabio ''Spok'' Elleri

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About Winery and Wines

Fabio 'Spok' Elleri worked for many years as a computer scientist at a multinational company until a terrible motorbike accident in 2011 forced him to lie in a hospital bed for 60 days. It was then that he became determined to stop and change his life.

He then moved to the Canary Islands for a few years. He came back to Italy in 2016, and after a year's experience at a friend's estate, he bought a farmhouse of his own in Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole, precisely in Rio Cozzi. 

'Uncle Spok's farm,' as his friends call it, with its four hectares of vineyard and eight of woodland, is in a territory of community importance. It is near the Sasso Spungone cliff, a 3-million-year-old rocky sediment and a place of breathtaking beauty.

Territory: 

The two parcels have a multifaceted terrain, with significant variations just a few meters apart. The north-facing plot, named 'Mar,' overlooks the Adriatic Sea and has blue clays and Spungone stone, the karstic rock formed by limestone and rich in marine fossils.

To the south, we find the 'Cozzi' parcel, characterized by a ferrallitic soil of red clays, Spungone, and limestone alternating with sandstone, all overlooking the valley of the Montone River.

A marine and saline imprint characterizes both parcels because of the salty-bromine-iodine thermal waters that rise to the surface and form a small lake. 

The farm:

The farm, located in the very first hills of the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines, is at an altitude ranging from 100 to 200 meters above sea level and comprises 12 hectares, of which about 4 are vineyards and 8 are woodland.

In recent years, Fabio has tried to favor biodiversity as much as possible, planting trees from ancient and autochthonous seeds, hemp, aromatic herbs, and other melliferous plants. The result is palpable through many varieties of flowers, butterflies, beetles, wild bees, and insectivorous birds.

Vineyards: 

The estate has 25 to 30-year-old plants pruned using the Simonit and Sirch method. It incorporates green manuring with field beans, barley, horseradish, phacelia, sainfoin, sulla, clover, field peas, and alfalfa.

Along with the estate, Fabio is taking care of old Romagna vineyards divided into small plots, renting them out, and making wine with the help of other friends and winemakers - this allows him to experiment with indigenous and forgotten grape varieties.

Varieties: Sangiovese, Albana, Trebbiano, Malvasia di Candia, and 4 other variants in production for 2024 (Albanella, Vernaccina, Vernaccia del Viandante, Trebbiano di Spagna)

Cellar: the current production is 15,000 bottles, with a forecasted increase for 2024.

Wine tanks: stainless steel and cement tanks and conical trunk oak vats.

Calanco Still White Wine 

Region: Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole.

Altitude: 200 MAMSL

Training system: Spurred cordon

Planting density: 500 plants

Yield: 60 q.li/ha

Age: 25 years

Grapes: 90% Trebbiano Romagnolo 10% Albana

Harvest Season: End of August

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small 20 kg crates.

Vinification: Minimum skin contact, spontaneous fermentation with no clarification or filtration. 

Ageing: in steel on fine lees for about 6 months; ageing in bottle for at least two months before release. 

Montone Still white wine 

Region: Tredozio

Altitude: 350 MAMSL

Training system: spurred cordon

Planting density: 2500 plants

Yield: 80 q.li/ha

Age: 40 years

Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Harvest Season: End of August

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small crates (20 kg)

Vinification: Minimal skin contact, spontaneous fermentation with no clarification or filtration. 

Ageing: In steel on fine lees for about 6 months; ageing in bottle for at least two months before release.

Frana Attiva Rosè still wine 

Region: Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole.

Altitude: 150 MAMSL

Training system: spurred cordon

Planting density: 3000 plants

Yield: 80 q.li/ha

Age: 25 years

Grapes: 100% Sangiovese Romagnolo

Harvest Season: End of August

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small 20 kg crates

Vinification: Vinified in white, minimum skin contact, spontaneous fermentation, no clarification or filtration. 

Ageing: In steel on fine lees for about 6 months; bottle-ageing for at least two months before release. 

Sbrok Sparkling Rosè wine  

Region: Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole.

Altitude: 200 MAMSL

Training system: spurred cordon

Planting density: 3000 plants

Yield: 80 q.li/ha

Age: 25 years

Grapes: 100% Sangiovese Romagnolo

Harvest Season: Mid-August

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small 20 kg crates.

Vinification: Vinified in white, with minimum contact with the skins; the tirage is made using must previously frozen during the harvest; re-fermentation takes place in the bottle without disgorging, with no clarification or filtration. 

Ageing: in steel on the fine lees for approximately 6 months; bottle-ageing for at least two months before release.

Spok Red wine 

Region: Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole.

Altitude: 100/200 mamsl

Training system: spurred cordon

Planting density: 3000 plants

Yield: 80 q.li/ha

Age: 25 years

Grapes: 100% Sangiovese Romagnolo

Harvest Season: Early September

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small 20 kg crates.

Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation in conical wooden tanks (about 40 years old), maceration for 14 days, no filtration.

Ageing: in steel on fine lees for about 11 months; bottle-ageing for a couple of months before release. 

Spungò Red wine  

Region: Castrocaro Terme and Terra del Sole.

Altitude: 200 MAMSL

Training system: spurred cordon

Planting density: 1500 plants

Yield: 60 q.li/ha

Age: 30 years

Grapes: 100% Sangiovese Romagnolo

Harvest Season: Mid-September

Grape Harvest: Exclusively by hand in small 20 kg crates.

Vinification: Spontaneous fermentation in conical trunks of approximately 40-year-old wood, maceration for 12 days, and no filtration.

Ageing: In steel on fine lees for about 11 months; bottle-ageing for a minimum of 6 months before release