Up to the seventies, our family lived on an for agriculture selling wine and olive oil to the few customs of that time. Years later we decided to go along this path again on the grounds that Castelfranco area is a really optimum habitat to grow vines and olives.
Considering life as a path is a philosophical concept we share. Moving the pawns, so that this path takes you back to the origins, becomes truly charming. You realize it strolling through a family vineyard, that has lived through many years, suddenly you notice a shadow, the shadow of someone who, before you, ploughed that land: your origins.
Built in the Autumn of 1376 as a defensive stronghold between the Papal State and the Kingdom of Naples, the walls of Castelfranco were destroyed in a few months by troops from L’Aquila sent by the Queen Giovanna I d’Angiò.
The municipality of Rieti, however, did not give up and started a quick rebuilding encouraging the inhabitants with tax exemption and by donating housing so that the stronghold had more people available to defend it.
After a long series of battles and wars, typical of the border lands, today the Castle is still partially defended by the old walls where the 1393 door, decorated with the coat of arms of Rieti’s Podestà Antonuccio de’ Marchesi da Massa, opens. The remains of the ancient observation and defence tower are still visible.
The architectural context of the built up area has kept its original centripetal physiognomy with narrow streets and stone ramps winding between houses almost totally or partially rebuilt in the XVIII and the XIX centuries.
The historic cellar fully represents the winemaking tradition of the area. The recently renovated cellar includes rooms with the remains of the tanks where the grapes were pressed and fermented as early as 1400.
Currently opened to visitors through our wine tour, the cellar has optimal conditions for the conservation and ageing of wines, for this reason we keep our classic method sparkling wine inside it, the latter actually carries out the second fermentation in bottles in these evocative rooms. The low light and the cool and constant temperature make the bubbles in our sparkling wine fine and persistent.
Terminillo peaks protect our vineyards from the North cold winds while,
on the South, the area benefits from the Mediterranean influences coming from Rieti valley,
ancient “Lacus Velinus” site. These orographic characteristics make Rieti the town
with the highest daily temperature range favouring an elegant grapes ripening.
White clones of Malvasia and Trebbiano and red ones of Cesenese, Montepulciano and Sangiovese were traditionally grown
in Rieti area. Our technicians have decided to plant nordic vines such as Traminer and Rhine Riesling which showed a perfect
adaptation to the local pedological, climatic and environmental characteristics.
