In the historically most suitable area of Abruzzo, where the origins of regional viticulture are preserved, they have recovered some ancient vines now abandoned and started winemaking in the cooperative winery of Pratola Peligna (L’Aquila), a
“monster” with unexpressed potential unknown to most. Antonio Santini and Gianluca Cianfaglione, 37 and 39 years old, are used to investing in Abruzzo, the former from Molise fell in love with this land which he began to visit after studying oenology in Perugia, the latter has never left it and he is not satisfied with his successful adventures such as the Biffi Cellar in his native Sulmona. The pandemic helped them, also because without all that free time – confesses Antonio
– no one would ever have had the chance to clear the brambles from those two hectares of vineyards on the plateau between Raiano and Pratola, divided into two plots which today are producing extraordinary products.
The company, in addition to the 35-year-old vine rented from a local elderly man who had stopped cultivating it, is made up of another two hectares in Montepulciano owned by Gianluca. Needless to say, the harvest is manual. The grapes macerate for a week in steel, the fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts in open vats, the refinement lasts 6 months.