-PASQUA AND CHARLES SMITH UNVEIL QUATTROMANI – A GROUNDBREAKING MULTI-VINTAGE PINOT NOIR MERGING VALPOLICELLA AND WASHINGTON STATE

Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine has unveiled QuattroMani, a bold new multi-vintage Pinot Noir created in collaboration with Washington State winemaker Charles Smith – a project that challenges traditional assumptions and redefines what innovation looks like in modern winemaking.

Presented for the first time at Vinitaly 2026, QuattroMani is the result of a long-standing dialogue between two distinct winemaking cultures. Born from a shared desire to challenge convention, the project brings together two visions to create a radically new interpretation of Pinot Noir and the extraordinary vineyard from which it originates.

Redefining Pinot Noir in Valpolicella At the heart of the project is a bold viticultural decision: planting Pinot Noir in Valpolicella.

The Campiano vineyard, located above San Giovanni Ilarione, spans nine hectares at around 600 metres above sea level, where nature dictates the rhythm and time seems to slow. The clay and limestone soil, formed from ancient seabeds, provides excellent drainage across the slopes. The vines, aged between 20 and 30 years, are spread across multiple plots with south-west exposure, capturing light and returning it with depth and finesse. The forest surrounding the vineyard creates a unique microclimate: cool and airy, protected yet open.

Grape ripening is slow and gradual, supported by significant temperature shifts that enhance aromatic development and build an elegant, precise and vibrant profile.

A revolutionary but decisive challenge, this decision underpins the wine’s distinctive character and signals a move away from regional convention.

Multi-vintage Innovation

QuattroMani is equally defined by Pasqua’s signature multi-vintage approach, bringing together the
2018, 2022, 2023 and 2025 vintages. Rather than expressing a single harvest, the blend becomes an expressive tool in its own right, building complexity, structure and consistency, while retaining the delicacy of Pinot Noir. The resulting wine is complex, layered and vibrant, with spice, herbal freshness and a tannic structure that is neither rigid nor invasive.

Old World Meets New World

QuattroMani is defined by a powerful merging of Old and New World philosophies. The Old World is rooted in the amphitheatre-style vineyard in Valpolicella, with its history, beauty and deep viticultural knowledge. The New World emerges through a winemaking approach that prioritises fruit expression, immediacy and openness. Together, they create a wine that does not seek to imitate, but instead to push beyond convention, a Pinot Noir that is both grounded and forward-looking.

The name QuattroMani (“four hands”) itself declares its essence: not a simple sum of experiences, but an entirely new wine identity. It is a creative act that brings into dialogue the historical depth of Valpolicella with the free, instinctive energy of Washington State. The project has been years in the making. Pasqua first began developing the concept nearly a decade ago, with Charles Smith joining in 2021. Through regular visits to the vineyard and extensive tastings of base wines dating back to 2018, the idea of a multi-vintage blend took shape, ultimately becoming both the stylistic signature and the defining creative gesture of the wine.

From Wine to Art: Resonance

The collaborative spirit behind QuattroMani extends beyond the bottle through Resonance, a monumental site-specific installation by artist Sara Ricciardi, unveiled at Palazzo Maffei during Vinitaly (10–14 April). Inspired directly by the partnership between Pasqua and Charles Smith, the work translates the philosophy of the wine into a physical experience. At its centre, a four-metre geode splits open to reveal a landscape of light and sound, symbolising the moment where two distinct identities meet, not to merge, but to create something entirely new. Just as QuattroMani brings together Old and New World approaches in a single expression, Resonance reflects the idea that innovation is born from dialogue, tension and exchange, transforming collaboration into something more powerful than the sum of its parts.

“Innovation cannot simply be declared; it must be demonstrated through projects. QuattroMani is the answer to that promise,” commented Riccardo Pasqua, CEO of Pasqua. “Charles Smith, his vision, his freedom from preconceptions and his dedication to quality have always been a great source of inspiration for us. For a project as disruptive as this, right from its roots, he immediately
felt like the ideal partner. His mastery of Pinot Noir is combined with our experience in multi-vintage
blends, which has become our stylistic signature and strongest expression of innovation.”

“I accepted the challenge because I saw the opportunity to do something never done before, while
knowing that collaborations can be complex. When you work without preconceptions, interesting
things always happen. QuattroMani is pure energy: a Pinot Noir that doesn’t aim to imitate anyone,
but simply to be authentic. It takes the depth of the Old World and pushes it towards something more
immediate, alive and accessible,”added Charles Smith.

QuattroMani Tasting Notes:
The first edition of QuattroMani is complex, layered and vibrant. On the nose, it reveals spice and herbal freshness. On the palate, it is fresh, with a tannic structure that is neither rigid nor intrusive. The wine is a blend of the 2018, 2022, 2023 and 2025 vintages. The hand-harvested grapes are crushed and destemmed, followed by a short cold maceration. Fermentation takes place at 20–22°C with regular punch-downs. After two days, the seeds are removed to avoid overly astringent tannins. After around 20 days, the wine is drawn off and transferred: part into tonneaux for two years, part into barriques for one year, using lightly toasted new French oak. It is then aged in steel for two to three months before being blended with the other vintages and bottled. The ageing potential is approximately 10 years.