Arturo Pelizzatti Perego, the driving force behind Ar.Pe.Pe and head of the company, was a great wine lover. However, Arturo also had another passion: car racing. So much so that his name has not only gone down in the history of Valtellina (in northernItaly) for his bottles of wine, but also for his participation in the Coppa Valtellina Rally, a route that started from the Circuito dell'Inferno, and was full of hairpin bends that ran between the slopes of vineyards. And he certainly earned his reputation. Arturo wanted to unite his two passions: winemaking and speed, dreaming of a wine that would convey the adrenaline, power and the roar that he felt going along this tortuous route. So, in 2009, Ar. Pe.Pe. Inferno Riserva Sesto Canto was born.
Dante’s Divine Comedy and the Sixth Canto of the Inferno are what inspired the name of this wine, which starts life in the 13 hectares of vineyards that this winery owns in the area, between Sassella, Grumello and Inferno. Most of the clusters come from the latter. This latter plot lies at an altitude of 450 metres above sea level, on steep slopes with poor, rocky soils where the vines have to work hard to capture the necessary nutrients. In these conditions, work has to be manual and costly (in terms of effort), with the harvest boxes having to be carried on shoulders. The steep slopes and steep terrain make it impossible for animals, let alone machinery, to work in the vineyard, making the vine growers key players in all of this work.
The fact that the grapes get to the winery is a miracle. The D.O.C.G. Valtellina Superiore Inferno denomination is famous for its reds, which are able to mature properly thanks to the southern orientation of the terroir. However, Ar. Pe.Pe. Inferno Riserva Sesto Canto is something out of the ordinary. We don’t know if it is because of its long maceration (86 days in wooden vats) or because of its long aging of almost three years in underground cellars.
Ar.Pe.Pe. Inferno Riserva Sesto Canto is Arturo Pelizzatti’s dream come true; and he shares it with the rest of the world through the Nebbiolo variety. There is no grape with more character or more appropriate for this purpose. On your marks. Get set. 3,2,1... Go! The race is on for a bottle of Ar.Pe.Pe. Inferno Riserva Sesto Canto!