# Rubice (2023)

- **Producer:** Azienda Agricola Tinessa
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Falanghina
- **Region:** Campania, Italy
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €28
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 12–14 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lemon, orange, peach, apricot, fennel, smoke, almond

## About this wine

Marco Tinessa, a former financial analyst in Milan, returned to his native Campania to craft low-intervention artisanal wines. Trained alongside icons like Frank Cornelissen on Mt. Etna and Mario Fontana in Barolo, Tinessa works in his cellar in Montesarchio near Mount Taburno. Rubice is crafted from old-vine Falanghina planted in friable, iron-rich volcanic soils. Produced in a micro-allocation of around 1,500 bottles, this cuvée offers a singular perspective on Campanian terroir.

## Interesting facts

- Founder Marco Tinessa worked as a financial analyst in Milan before returning home to make wine.
- Fruit is sourced from old Falanghina vines ranging between 50 and 90 years of age.
- Aged in stoneware ceramic vessels with 1 to 2 days of partial skin maceration.
- Extremely rare micro-production vintage yielding only approximately 1,500 bottles total.

## Food pairing

This dry, textured Falanghina has crisp acidity, subtle skin-contact phenolics, and a distinct mineral spine. It pairs brilliantly with oily fish, seafood pasta, and rich poultry dishes. The elevated acidity cuts through rich butter and fish oils, while its subtle phenolic grip aligns with savory, umami-rich ingredients like anchovies and aged cheeses.

## Wine making process

Grapes are hand-harvested in early October, de-stemmed, and lightly crushed. Fermentation occurs spontaneously using indigenous yeasts without temperature control. Half of the harvest undergoes 1 to 2 days of skin contact in fiberglass and stainless steel, while the remaining half is directly pressed. The wine ages for 7 to 10 months in neutral stainless steel and stoneware ceramic vessels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal post-fermentation sulfur dioxide additions.