Camillo Donati, natural sparkling wines from Emilia Romagna
Website: https://www.camillodonati.it/en/
This winery was established in 1930 to make some wine for home consumption, by the grandfather of Camillo Donati. Back then, wine was food: it was needed to make up part of the calorific needs of the family, and making wine was an economically advantageous way of making sure they had wine to drink every day at the table. The family had a wide range of red and white varieties, and all the reds were fermented together, and all the white were fermented together.
They are based just outside Parma in Emilia Romagna. They have 11 hectares of vines, farmed with organics and biodynamics.
Camillo doesn’t use any additions, except for some sulfites at the beginning of the winemaking process. These are natural wines, and they are all sparkling: they are col fondos, fermented in the bottle and not disgorged.
These wines were tasted at the VinNatur festival in Paris, November 2025.
Camillo Donati Trebbiano 2024 Emilia Romagna, Italy
Yellow/gold in colour. Aromatic with lovely depth, showing some structure. Vivid with apple and pear fruit as well as some citrus. Stylish and vivid. 92/100
Camillo Donati Malvasia 2024 Emilia Romagna, Italy
Grapey, aromatic and full with fresh, herby, tangy citrus fruit. Some table grape richness as well as cherry and aniseed notes. Nice depth. 92/100
Camillo Donati Malvasia Rosa 2024 Emilia Romagna, Italy
The grape variety here is Malvasia Rosa. Bright and herby with cherry and cranberry notes, as well as nice acidity. Tangy and vivid showing lovely freshness and focus, with some brightness but also lovely fruit. 92/100
Camillo Donati Ribelle 2024 Emilia Romagna, Italy
This is Barbera, vinified on skins. Bright pink red in colour. Tangy, tart and lively with lovely precision and purity. Nice energy to the cranberry and cherry fruit. There’s some spicy bite here. Very stylish. 93/100
Camillo Donati Lambrusco 2024 Emilia Romagna, Italy
This is Lambrusco Maestri. Full red in colour. Tangy, bright and vivid with a slightly cheesy edge and some reductive character giving a hint of vinyl. Juicy finish. 88/100
