Five producers united to celebrate the history of the small village of Villamagna. A small production of wine to make the most of the long history of a territory
"You're the first reporter to come here." Already from these words you can understand the type of work that the winemakers of Villamagna, a small town of 2492 inhabitants in the province of Chieti, where oil or wine has always been produced. Precisely for this reason, at a certain point, they understood that the time had come to enhance this story.
The birth of the Villamagna Doc Generations
You don't pass through Villamagna, not even by chance. You have to go to Villamagna on purpose. And today, thanks to some wineries, we have one more reason to do it. In Villamagna there is a particular climate: the Maiella on one side and the sea on the other, continuous temperature changes, both between the seasons and between day and night. The result is a production of a historic wine that has something more, which contains the essence of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which is its expression, the most elegant face and which, thanks to this class of its own, also knows how to age. This is how the Villamagna Doc was born in 2011, which later became in 2018 Generations of Villamagna: a name not by chance, desired both for the respect towards previous generations who have always produced grapes and wine; both for the five protagonists who are part of it today and have united with the common goal of enhancing Villamagna, both as a wine and as a country. United for the cause, of course, but each in a different way, with a very personal story of their Villamagna.
1. Valle Martello, the different cousins
On the one hand there are two brothers, Katia and Luca, on the other three, Pino, Paolo and Corrado. Among them are cousins, united by their grandfather Peppino who forged them, giving them the shape of the passion for wine. Unfortunately, Peppino left just two months before the opening of the cellar, almost as if to say: "Now it's your turn". And the task was taken by all five to the letter, so much so that today they produce different wines, but always characterized by a brand: that of things done well. From Villamagna to the Brado State, up to the whole Avo line, the one dedicated to the grandfather.
2. Cascina Dei Colli, where everything is a story to tell
Not least is another of the protagonists of Villamagna, Alessio D'Onofrio, who together with the force of nature that is his wife Raffaella manage a 20-hectare winery, all organic. Each of their wines tells a story, such as the structured and powerful Montepulciano Mammut, which takes its name from the animal's tusk they found near the vineyards; or the Aimè, a Pecorino so called because it is much loved by the French; or the Kukukaya, which we advise you to tell directly from them. And then again, Cuvée 71, rightly awarded as the best Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo: it was his paternal grandfather, Francesco Gabriele, who for the first time enhanced and bottled this wine, which was previously only sold in bulk. "Our maternal grandfather, on the other hand, we hired him to work here in the company," jokes Alessio. And then, as is used in Villamagna, also oil: adjacent to the cellar, in fact, there is the historic Oleificio D’Onofrio, managed together with his cousin Francesco, another of our protagonists.
3. Marchesi De 'Cordano, the thousand faces of wine
Someone stop him! Francesco D'Onofrio is a constant ferment. It all started at the dawn of 2000 with the Marchesi De 'Cordano company, which over the years has become a group including other realities: there is Palazzo Battaglini, entirely dedicated to Villamagna, which takes the name of the historic farm, immersed in one of the oldest vineyards; Santagiusta, where an excellent classic method is produced at high altitude; or Dragani and Altavilla for a total of about 50 hectares spread over seven municipalities, in four provinces. In short, is something missing?
4. Torre Zambra, the head on the net, one foot in the earth, the other in the world
Then there is Federico De Cerchi, who wakes up every day at 4.45am. Because he is like this: he is another who thinks a thousand and two thousand does. On the other hand, without such people how could they have been able to create what they created? Federico graduated in Economics, then traveled the world carrying the word of Villamagna and the wines that his family business has been producing since the 1960s, the one he never thought of abandoning, indeed. His constant thought is always to expand and innovate it, so much so that today, in addition to being all organic, it also has sustainability certification, given by various factors, including that of generating work and bringing people to the territory and therefore to offer the possibility of staying in the area (which is no small feat in these parts). Among the many ideas he has in mind, we anticipate just one: Family Estate, a project to restore some historic estates, which he already imagines as temples of wine and hospitality. But not only in Abruzzo: what Federico is doing is going back to the possessions that his grandfather Laurentino had also bought elsewhere, such as in Puglia and opening something there too. But in reality we have not told you anything, because who knows how many he will have thought, imagined and planned only in the last hours.
5. agriCosimo, from Villamagna to New York
One foot in Abruzzo and the other in America: this is the continuing life of the Proietto family, who have lived and traveled continuously between these two countries for years. But although they are now also at home overseas, at a certain point for them the call to their origins was too strong and so in 2010 they began work to open their own cellar. "We strongly wanted to do something for our country of origin, Villamagna," Nazario tells us with eyes full of love, among the souls of the company together with his son Colin. Today agriCosimo, which looks at Villamagna from the bottom up, is a structure that does not leave indifferent: equipped with the most modern technologies, complete with rooms and breathtaking views. And then to try, in addition (as always) to their Villamagna, are two other bottles (before they disappear from the line): Montepulciano Scine, which for those who don't know means "yes" in Abruzzo, "perfect for a spontaneous nic "; and the whole basic line Vì, in memory of when the grandmother said to him: «Vì, come and eat.
We can perhaps conclude that the secret of this wine, Villamagna, is precisely this continuous thermal excursion between love for their territory of origin and a continuous look at the world, a world to be explored even when standing still.
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