The Calabrian cellar where Friuli and Puglia • Food and Wine Italy meet

Durante the municipality of Altomonte, a postcard village per mezzo di the province of Cosenza among the most beautiful per mezzo di Italy, there is a cellar where three regions meet: Calabria, per mezzo di fact, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Puglia. The story of Terre su Balbia was written twice: the first at the beginning of the 2000s, when Gianni Venica (yes, of Venica & Venica) decided to invest per mezzo di the tip of Italy to implant its international reds to bottle them per mezzo di the Collio; The second per mezzo di 2014 when it was detected by Giuseppe Chiappetta, a engineer from Cosentino who wanted to build the wine dream of a life together with his children here. To do this, he entrusted himself to a manufacturer friend, the Apulian Gianfranco Fine (his cellar is also among our 50 tops of 2024) who became the official winemaker of Terre su Balbia.

The only red grape variety that has been left compared to the previous Friulian property is the Merlot that today is expressed through one of the three labels of the company that has always believed per mezzo di organic production (all the work per mezzo di the vineyard take place by hand with the help of Two tracked strokes): the Blandus. This “kind” interpretation, as the name suggests, seems to be a reasoned exception compared to the great work of recovery and enhancement of the native vines of the region which Chiappetta and up to have bet. This was demonstrated by Ligrezza and fervor, the two other (and currently unique) bottles of Terre su Balbia. Respectively 100% Gaglioppo and 100% sweet sweater, give rise to a rosé and a red that believe per mezzo di long refinements. It is above all with the Magliocco, planted per mezzo di red earth and under the reserve of clay, that the cellar has broken the patterns focolaio the low gradation and longevity, with important tannins softened by time (at least five years between bottle and 10 hectoliters barrels and French barrique François Frères).

To these three wines, all worked per mezzo di purity, two other labels will soon be added: if already per mezzo di 2024 the first white of Terre su Balbia will be released, produced with autochthonous grapes of white Mantonico (we venture to say one of the most interesting Calabrian vines), there He will want some more time to turn the Rosato su Magliocco sparkling wine.