Our Story

The Property
The Fabro estate, later named Murogrosso, was purchased in 1970 by Massimo Calabresi, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, descended from an ancient Roman bourgeois family with a long tradition of agricultural entrepreneurship. The family's activities, which began in Cerveteri in the 17th century, included viticulture, olive growing, and semi-wild cattle farming in the Roman countryside. Over the next two centuries, the family's influence grew significantly, both in Cerveteri in public administration – beginning with the difficult period of the French occupation during the First Roman Republic (1798) – and socially, such as through the charitable work of the mystic Rosa Calabresi (1743-1805), who helped young seasonal farmworkers.

One significant chapter in the family’s history was in the mid-19th century, when Paolo Calabresi led the first systematic archaeological excavation campaign of the Etruscan Necropolis of ancient Ceri in Cerveteri, under the supervision of the Papal State. The most important hypogean tombs, including the Calabresi Tomb, were discovered, and the artifacts found are largely housed in the Vatican Museums today. At the end of the 19th century, the family moved to Rome, into a palace built on Via Venti Settembre, designed by Gaetano Koch.

After World War I and the extensive reclamation of the Maremma region, which led to the end of the extensive cattle farming of the "mercanti di campagna" (rural merchants), the family’s agricultural activities were continued by Massimo and Ugo Calabresi until their passing in the 1980s.

 

The Fabro Farm
The farm is located in the hills marking the eastern edge of the Roman Valdichiana, on flat land along the banks of the Chiani River (Clanis in Latin). The hills narrow to the east, where an ancient wall structure from Etruscan or Roman times, known as Muro Grosso, crossed the Chiani to control flooding and facilitated passage on the Via Cassia Traianea. This ancient structure, of which only a few ruins remain, along with its name, inspired the name of the estate.

The property, which includes flat, hilly, and wooded land, was purchased in 1970 to support semi-wild cattle farming for the family’s estates in Campagnano and Cerveteri. The hilly areas were used for grazing, while the fertile, irrigated plains along the river were used to produce corn silage for the livestock.

After Massimo’s death in 1983, his son Giovanni took over the estate. A civil engineer and university professor specializing in the restoration and preservation of historical buildings, Giovanni also focused on the functional recovery of the estate’s semi-abandoned farmhouses. The structural consolidation was carried out following principles used for the conservation of historically significant structures, using materials and techniques from the original period of construction (18th-19th century). These restoration features are evident in all the buildings, now used for the winery, agritourism, and other farm services.

The significant changes in national agricultural economics during the 1980s and 1990s led the estate to abandon cattle farming and explore new production opportunities, especially to make better use of the hilly areas. As a result, vineyard acreage gradually increased, given the estate’s location within the Orvieto DOC and IGT production area.

 

Vineyards and Winery
The vineyard established in 1970 on the lower southern slopes of Carnaiola was planted with the five traditional Orvieto DOC grape varieties (Trebbiano, Verdello, Malvasia, Grechetto, and Drupeccio). It was uprooted and replanted in 1992 according to new regulations, allowing the addition of Chardonnay. The grapes produced were mostly sent to the Monrubio Cooperative Winery in Castel Viscardo, except for a small portion that was vinified in the traditional on-site winery.

In the upper part of the same slope, where the terrain has a more complex geological stratification with a higher presence of colluvial deposits from the overlying limestone formation, the first red grape varieties were planted in 2000: Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Many years later, between 2016 and 2019, the vineyards expanded to the opposite side of the valley, with new white and red grape varieties planted to suit the diverse agronomic and sunlight characteristics of the terrain.

In 1995, while still sending most of the grapes to the Monrubio Cooperative Winery, the estate slightly increased its own wine production to begin direct sales. Following advice from an expert oenologist, a new, modernly equipped winery was built to maximize the specific qualities of the grapes produced. This allowed for the production of high-quality wines by combining the characteristics of different grape varieties with the unique pedological and agronomic features of the estate's soils. Equipment for production, aging, and maturing of white and red wines was installed on the ground floor of a restored farmhouse on the southern slope of the Carnaiola hill, at a place known as Campi. The winery was later expanded into an adjacent rustic building and a new thermally conditioned facility for wine packaging and storage.

Originally, wine sales – both bulk and bottled – were conducted solely at the winery. However, since 2018, wine sales have been conducted from a shop located on Via Nazionale, in the center of Fabro Scalo.