It is Rissa, German contemporary artist, to sign the label-symbol of Nittardi this year

It is artist Rissa, amongst the most famous of German contemporary art, to sign, this year, Chianti Classico “Vigna Doghessa”, the label-symbol of the Nittardi winery – Chianti estate owned by the Canali-Femfert family – as part of a unique project, born in 1981, which has already seen the collaboration of great international names in the past, from director James Ivory (who created the label the last year), passing through Yoko Ono, Günter Grass, Igor Mitoraj, Dario Fo, Mimmo Paladino, Emilio Tadini, Valerio Adami, Allen Jones, Fabrizio Plessi, and many others. For Casanuova di Nittardi “Vigna Doghessa” 2022, the unique style of Rissa was chosen, joining technical accuracy, and emotional sensitivity, celebrating the deep cultural connection between Italy and Germany. The label by Rissa – born in 1938 as Karin Martin in Rabenstein, and famous for her figurative painting, dividing volumes and colors into well-defined sections, each one with its own intensity, and meaning – is inspired by classic mosaic, a technique that reached its peak with Italian masters of Renaissance, thanks to the implementation of precious materials such as marble and lapis lazuli. The delicate lilac of the label represents the strong friendship, whilst the silk paper wrapping the bottle, decorated with light blue and lilac motifs pays homage to the cultural connection between the two countries. “On the label, lavender light blue recalls a nostalgic and desired fusion, whilst the blue butterfly on the silk paper symbolizes a soft transience”, explains the artist. Since 1981, every vintage of Casanuova di Nittardi Chianti Classico that comes from the Doghessa vineyard, the most precious cru of the winery, brings with it two special signatures: the inner one, celebrating the unceasing work of the winery team, and the external one, that of an extraordinary artist, who transforms every bottle into an artwork throughout an artistic label, and a special silk paper.
“Wine is handcraft - explains Léon Femfert, guiding Nittardi - just as an artist works with a blank sheet of paper, thus the winemaker interprets what nature offers him/her, transforming it with creativity and knowledge. Like cinema or poetry, wine also narrates stories – concludes Léon - and Casanuova di Nittardi is our way to explain them to the world”.
Nittardi relies on 40 vineyard hectares, organically farmed, divided between Chianti and Maremma. In the sixteenth century, the Castellina estate was owned by Michelangelo Buonarroti, who, from there, got wine sent to Rome in order to offer it to Pope Paul III. The artistic vocation is in the DNA of the company, as evidenced by the extraordinary contemporary sculpture park and the exceptional artists who create dedicated labels every year, invited by Peter Femfert (gallerist), his wife Stefania Canali (art historian), and their eldest son Léon, who, since 2013, manages the company.