7 wines 
Tastings
Tours
Accommodation
Walk-ins welcome 
Wine area
Wine area
Denominations Produced
Wine areaDOC
Tenuta Mara
Tenuta Biodinamica Mara is a Demeter-certified estate above San Clemente, in the Rimini hills of Emilia-Romagna. It sits in the Valconca, twelve kilometres inland from the Adriatic coast. The entrepreneur Giordano Emendatori founded it at the start of the 2000s and named it for his wife, Mara. The first vines went into lime-rich clay soils laid down by an ancient sea. The debut vintage was bottled in 2011. The winery focuses on native Sangiovese di Romagna. The wines ferment spontaneously, without chemical aids, and age in three decorated cellar rooms.
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Emilia Romagna
- 7 wines
- Tastings
- Tours
- Accommodation
- Walk-ins welcome
Wines from Tenuta Mara
About Tenuta Mara
The estate sits on the ridge of hills that links Rimini's hinterland to the sea. The ridge runs across the Valle del Conca. Its soils are alkaline, lime-rich clays, first laid down as ancient marine sediment. The vineyards are planted between 160 and 180 metres above sea level. They face north-east and south-west. The Adriatic is twelve kilometres away, so the warmth of the coast and the shelter of the Apennines meet here in equal measure.
Giordano Emendatori conceived the project at the start of the 2000s and dedicated it to his wife, Mara. The first plantings followed a careful, plot-by-plot reading of the land. The estate is certified by Demeter, the international biodynamic body. Demeter was founded on Rudolf Steiner's preparations and refined by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. Tenuta Mara is one of Italy's reference points for high-quality farming of this kind. In practice that means spontaneous fermentations and no chemical fertilisers. It also means no synthetic aids, and none of the industrial cellar additives common in mass-market Sangiovese.
The estate also invests heavily in the wider biodiversity this way of farming depends on. It weaves field margins, dedicated insect habitats, nesting structures and grazing animals into a closed nutrient cycle.
The cellar is built around three named rooms, each with its own architectural character. The Tinaia holds six large cement vats, each painted by a different contemporary artist. A glass wall lights the space, so the fermentation hall doubles as a gallery. The Bottaia is the heart of MaraMia ageing. Large oak botti rest there around a French concrete egg, watched by two antique Chinese guardian figures. Gregorian chants play day and night while the wine ages. The wines then move to the Barricaia, a Byzantine-decorated barrel room of barriques and tonneaux. There the flagship MaraMia continues its ageing before bottling.
Wine, music and art are deliberately interwoven. Classical music plays in the vineyards through the growing season. The estate links this to the Pythagorean idea that harmony in nature has a musical structure. The grounds hold sculptures by Mauro Staccioli, Gio Pomodoro and Pietro Sbarluzzi. Indoors, the collection runs from Arnaldo Pomodoro and Bonalumi to commissioned contemporary frescoes. The Sala della Musica is built around a Fazioli grand piano. It hosts concerts, weddings and corporate events. The resident chef, Antonio Palmisani, trained under Gino Angelini and Heinz Winkler. He runs the on-site restaurant and the chef-led tasting menus.
Day to day, Tenuta Mara is a family-run operation. Mara Emendatori is the proprietor, and her daughter Elena Emendatori is the director. The winemaker Leonardo Pironi has shaped the wines from the project's earliest vintages. The estate also runs Casa Mara, four themed guest suites named for Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence. A winery visit can stretch into an overnight stay in the Romagna hills.
Plate I · EMILIA ROMAGNA
Tenuta Mara on the Emilia Romagna wine atlas
Winery
Tenuta Mara
San Clemente, Rimini
Denominations Produced
Wine areaDOC
Grapes Used
Visit & Experiences
5 bookable experiences at Tenuta Mara
5 tastings, checked by our editors. From €30.
Tasting & Tour
Wine experience at the Biodynamic Mara Wine Estate
1h 30
From €30 per person
English and Italiano
A special wine experience that combines the love for wine, art, and music: visit the Biodynamic Mara Estate and taste their MaraMia
Book this tour
via Winedering
Tasting
Degustando: cellar tour and Sangiovese tasting
Guided cellar tour through the Tinaia, Bottaia and Barricaia followed by a glass of Tenuta Mara Sangiovese di Romagna served with breadsticks. Available Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday/Sunday at 11:00 by appointment.
Book this tasting
on tenutamara.it
Tasting
Stuzzicando: tasting with cured meats and cheeses
Cellar tour and a glass of Sangiovese paired with a selection of Romagnolo cured meats and local cheeses. Available Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday/Sunday at 11:00 by appointment.
Book this tasting
on tenutamara.it
Tasting
Regalando: tasting with a complimentary MaraMia bottle
Cellar tour and a glass of Sangiovese with breadsticks, plus a complimentary 0.75 litre bottle of MaraMia to take home. By appointment Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday/Sunday at 11:00.
Book this tasting
on tenutamara.it
Food Pairing
Assaporando: chef-led tasting menu
About 90 minutes
From €50 per person
Tasting menu prepared by resident chef Antonio Palmisani with seasonal local ingredients, served alongside Tenuta Mara wines in the on-site restaurant.
Book this pairing
on tenutamara.it
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Plan your visit
Via Ca' Bacchino s.n., 47832 San Clemente, Rimini (Emilia Romagna)
What Tenuta Mara makes
Tenuta Mara's current bottle selection is easiest to understand through Sangiovese and Pinot Nero.
Key grapes
Common questions
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Tenuta Mara is in San Clemente, in the province of Rimini, in the Valle del Conca hills of Emilia-Romagna. The Adriatic coast is twelve kilometres away. The vineyards sit between 160 and 180 metres above sea level, on lime-rich clay soils laid down long ago under the sea.
Get in touch
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