Visit us to shop and hang in person or order online for quick and easy pick up.
Address
210 EAST VERMILION STREET LAFAYETTE, LA 70501
Hours
Tues-Thurs
1pm-7pm
Friday & Saturday
1pm-8pm
Closed Sunday & Monday
21 and Over Only to Buy Wine.
Choose In-store Pickup To Order Wine Online.
We Do Not Ship Wine or Alcohol.
We do ship Everything Else!
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From certified-biodynamic estate vines of around 25 years old. The fruit is harvested manually, later than for "Le Cince" Cerasuolo and earlier than for "Prologo" red. The grapes are destemmed but not crushed; they are fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts and no temperature control in concrete tanks. Maceration is about 4 days. The wine is also aged in concrete--hence the very literal name--for 10-11 months and bottled without fining, filtration or sulfur (sparingly applied during racking but not bottling). It is classified as Vino Rosso, so the only geographical indicator on the bottle is "L.A.", in reference to the winery's home community of Loreto Apruntino (which happens to be the oldest viticultural area of the Abruzzo).
The story of De Fermo, a relatively new estate founded in 2010 by Stefano Papetti Ceroni and his wife Eloisa de Fermo, is an unconventional one. Originally from Bologna, Stefano does not come from an agricultural background but nonetheless took interest in wine at a very young age. He began a tasting group with his friends in high school (including his best friend Federico Orsi) and started visiting wineries as soon as he was old enough to do so. By Stefano's early 20's, wine had become his passion.
While studying law in Bologna, he met his future wife Eloisa. In their early years together, weekend trips to wineries became the norm. In 2007, seven years after the couple had met, Eloisa proposed they visit her family farm in Abruzzo; it that had been in the de Fermo family for generations but she had no real connection to it. Not expecting much, Stefano was shocked to discover a sprawling, ancient property with a rich history.
Stefano fell hard for the De Fermo farm. In the winter of 2007, he began spending every weekend in Abruzzo, learning from the contadini hired by Eloisa's family to run the property. He eventually asked his father-in-law if he could manage a hectare of vines to teach himself viticulture, providing a first glimpse of what owning a winery could be like. But with he and Eloisa holding down successful law careers in Bologna (not to mention two new-borns), the idea seemed too crazy. And with no money to invest in the cellar he dreamed of building, it seemed like the weekend visits would have to do.
In 2009, Stefano asked the old man managing the property to see what was in the old farm house that had been abandoned since 1940's. Unbeknownst to Eloisa, he discovered an underground cantina in the basement. After testing it for temperature and humidity, a small restoration was done on the old concrete tanks, two barrels were purchased and 32 hectoliters of wine were produced in 2010, roughly 4000 bottles. Production increased each year, and by 2013 Stefano was managing all 16 hectares of vines, keeping the best grapes for the De Fermo estate and selling off the rest.
Today, almost all of the grapes go into the estate's independent production. For vines, 11 hectares of Montepulciano are planted along with 2.5 hectares of Pecorino, 2.5 hectares of Chardonnay and and 0.5 hectares of experimental white grapes including Trebbiano and other white varieties.The terroirs here are widely considered amongst the best in the region.
Stefano and Eloisa have now fully reclaimed the property and are working the olive trees, wheat fields, vegetable gardens and raising animals in addition to tending the vines. This push for biodiversity very much stems from their dedicated, thoughtful approach to biodynamic farming, a philosophy that resonates in every aspect of their lives.
Denny & Katie
Owners
Your friendly neighborhood wine shop and tiny bar, focused on small production wines and conservas. Connect with us on Instagram for suggestions on your next bottle and to follow along in our downtown Lafayette wine journey.
Visit us to shop and hang in person or order online for quick and easy pick up.
Hours
Tues-Thurs
1pm-7pm
Friday & Saturday
1pm-8pm
Closed Sunday & Monday