Conti di Buscareto - Marche

The aim of the agricultural company Conti di Buscareto is to rediscover and bed our the old Marche vines in order to produce wine using new, modern and advance methods that are available to contemporary oenology.

 This project, initiated some years ago, has mainly concentrated on the vines of the ‘Lacrima Nera’ (‘Black Tear’), a variety of red berry typical of the hills which encircle the little town of Morro D’Alba including the villages of Belvedere Ostrense, Monte San Vito, Ostra, San Marcello and the town of Senigallia (with the exception of the hill slopes which face the Adriatic Sea).  The name ‘lacrima’ (‘tear’) is due to the particular effect of loss of juices from the grape when it becomes very mature (from the Latin lacrimosus).

 In 1985, the company obtained Controlled Denomination of Origin (D.O.C.); this has contributed significantly to saving this ancient vine from extinction and afforded it a new opportunity to be known and loved.

 Today this variety remains among the smallest Italian DOC productions despite the growth, within a short period, of the area of cultivation from just one to over a hundred hectares; an extraordinary increment which has followed an equally extraordinary expansion of its popularity among wine enthusiasts both in Italy and abroad.

Masserie Flocco – Molise

 The Flocco family is devoted to agriculture, in particular to viticulture and oliveculture for many generations.

Over the last several years, they have put in place considerable investment in to the viticulture reconstruction of the vineyards, paying considerable attention to the characteristics of the soils, micro-climate and exposure; they have achieved the choice of the most suitable varieties, graft-holders and “clones”.

In addition, the Flocco family has a assembled a very effective team of collaborators, which includes, Dr Luigi Bonato – agronomist at the University of Bologna, and Dr Paolo Peira - oenologist at the University of Bordeaux.

 At present, the vineyard covers approximately 100 hectares.  The soils at vineyard are situated along the ridges of the Biferno Valley, at about 10 kilometres from the Adriatic Sea, at a middle altitude of 150 metres, above sea-level.

The vineyards are protected by a natural “basin” closed, in the west, by the Apennines and are planted on alluvial, sandy soils, which are rich in mineral salts and enjoy good ventilation from all directions and a lot of warm, bright days followed by cool nights.

 The Flocco family’s business “philosophy” states that their wines must offer fullness and softness, joined with interesting perfumes:  they must be “identified” wines.