Sandro Fay is a 15-hectare family estate in San Giacomo di Teglio, on the south-facing terraces of Valtellina in northern Lombardy. Founded by Sandro Fay in 1973 and now run with his children Marco and Elena, the cellar is the reference grower for the Valgella sub-zone of Valtellina Superiore DOCG, working Chiavennasca (the Valtellina name for Nebbiolo) on granitic, sandy soils between 350 and 900 metres of altitude.
Lombardy
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Guided visit to the working family cantina above San Giacomo di Teglio, followed by a tasting of around five wines that traces Téi Rosso di Valtellina DOC, the Valgella line of Valtellina Superiore DOCG and at least one Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG. Visits are run mostly by Elena Fay; English is spoken.
Book this experienceGuided visit to the working family cantina above San Giacomo di Teglio, followed by a tasting of around five wines that traces Téi Rosso di Valtellina DOC, the Valgella line of Valtellina Superiore DOCG and at least one Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG. Visits are run mostly by Elena Fay; English is spoken.
Book this experienceThe Società Agricola Fay was founded in 1973, when Sandro Fay decided to build on the small family wine business and turn it into a proper estate. Since 1998 he has been joined by his children Marco, who studied oenology in Trentino and trained in Barolo before taking over winemaking, and Elena, who runs visits and the commercial side. The estate today covers 15 hectares of terraced vineyard around San Giacomo di Teglio, in the heart of the Valgella sub-zone, and is one of the names most often cited when Valgella is treated as a serious cru rather than the gentlest of the five Valtellina Superiore zones.
The vines sit between 350 and 900 metres on the south slope of the Rhaetian Alps, on stone-walled terraces that have been worked since the Middle Ages. Soils are dominated by sandy material from decomposed granite, around 70 percent sand with roughly 18 percent silt, almost no clay or limestone, and a markedly acid pH between 4.5 and 5.5. That profile matters: it gives the wines their light colour, transparent texture and saline lift, and it is why the estate insists on bottling individual parcels separately rather than blending across the property.
The grape is Chiavennasca, the Valtellina name for Nebbiolo, which has been farmed on these terraces for over a thousand years. Valgella is one of the five named sub-zones of Valtellina Superiore DOCG, stretching for 137 hectares inside the commune of Teglio, and its name comes from the dialect word valgel, the small streams that cut the slopes. Compared with neighbouring Sassella or Inferno, Valgella tends to give a lighter, more aromatic, more fruit-forward Chiavennasca, and Sandro Fay's bottlings have done a lot to argue that style is a strength, not a compromise.
The range starts with Téi, a Rosso di Valtellina DOC that takes its name from Teglio in dialect, then climbs through three Valtellina Superiore DOCG bottlings: the Valgella Il Glicine, the Sassella Cà Moréi from a parcel outside the home zone, and the Valgella Carterìa Riserva, which Decanter and a number of UK importers treat as the estate's flagship. Above those sits Ronco del Picchio, a Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG made in the appassimento style from air-dried Chiavennasca, and a small set of Alpi Retiche IGT wines including La Faya rosso, Sotcastèl Chardonnay and Ronco Valene bianco.
The estate is open for tours and tastings, run mostly by Elena, but it is a working family cantina rather than a hospitality operation: visits are by appointment only and need to be booked by email, in practice around a month ahead. A typical session walks through the cellar above San Giacomo and finishes with a tasting of about five wines that traces Téi, the Valgella line, and at least one Sforzato. English is spoken. There is no on-site restaurant, no accommodation and no online booking system.
Editorially verified by ItalianWines.co.uk.
Plate I · LOMBARDY
Est. 1973 
Tastings
Tours
Accommodation
Booking required 
13
