Producer

My name is Giovanni Fiorentino and I was born fifty years ago in Paternopoli, in Campania. I studied and graduated in law in Rome and worked for several years as a consultant for the public administration. I dealt with local development and industry.

I have always been passionate about wine. My parents were farmers and we lived and grew up in the countryside in a house in the middle of old vineyards. My mother, in particular, has always made wine at home and I, my two brothers and my sister grew up with the desire to make a new cellar one day.

My mother produced Aglianico wine and "Coda di Volpe" white wine and sold to a few loyal customers in demijohns of wine. My father lived for a long time in the United States, in Chelsea - Boston, where his father (my grandfather Luigi) also lived for several years.

In 2012 I decided to make my dream and that of my brothers and sister come true: I then set up a farm together with my brothers and built a cellar next to the house where we were born on the piece of land that my grandfather Luigi bought when he returned from Chelsea. We united our lands in one project to do something we loved. Now we have five hectares of vineyards and the wines produced are Aglianico Doc, the  Taurasi Docg, the Rosato di Aglianico and the white Coda di Volpe.

I bottled for the first time in 2016 (vintage 2012) and for the second time in 2017 (vintage 2013). The quantities of bottles are currently limited, however they will increase over time. I named my first wine “Celsì” (as Italian Americans called Chelsea) in honor of my grandfather Luigi.

My desire is to make a wine that tells my story, that of my family, of my land. My dream is to bring a wine made with love and passion to Italy and the world. I would like a gentle and elegant wine that respects the vintages and the roots, the territory. I believe in technique, knowledge and innovation and, in my small way, I try to be innovative in my choices. For me, innovation is the best way to preserve roots and tradition.

The cellar, built in bio-architecture, is located in the small rural village of Paternopoli, in the center of the Taurasi area, in Irpinia, where man's work in the fields lives in harmony with nature and the seasons. In the land of wolves and bonfires, castles and tarantellas, our family's vineyards grow in a soft, florid landscape with numerous peculiarities whose nuances we take care to preserve in our wines. The territory is rich in ancient traditions, places to visit, from the castle of Gesualdo to the Goleto Abbey passing through the Mefite sung by Virgil in the Aeneid, and also in typical products, a real deposit of flavors among which those of the Aprilatico broccoli from Paternopoli.

Our family has always had a vocation for making wine. At the beginning of the nineties the first winemaking experience was born, today revived in a modern and innovative form in the new cellar with the same love and passion as then for our work, our vineyards, our land.

I am often asked why we only grow Aglianico and Coda di Volpe grapes. Ours is a choice of respect for the vocation of the territory and the family tradition, which has passed from our grandparents to our parents and continues with the new generations. The answer lies in the vitality of this volcanic land, where Aglianico expresses its true character, where the most authentic "Taurasi" is born and where Coda di Volpe expresses itself at its best. In the wines we produce there is the story of a family commitment to respect the environment, nature, with the constant aim of quality. We work to allow the traceability of our products, combining traditional knowledge with innovation & research activities.