L'Astore Masseria

Medieval roots of the estate

Agriculture at the estate predates the modern winery by centuries. The Cappella di San Giovanni, built in the 13th century above a Byzantine crypt, preserves evidence of the Basilian monks who established olive cultivation on land reclaimed from Mediterranean scrub. Olive-oil production has consequently formed part of the estate’s identity for approximately eight centuries.

The underground mill

An underground olive mill was created in the early 18th century and became one of the principal processing centres in the surrounding area. Its subterranean rooms retain the stone mills that were once turned by mules, together with the working spaces used by generations of millers. An 18th-century part of the historic building has been carefully restored while preserving its original character.

1935: the Benegiamo family

The Benegiamo family took possession of L’Astore Masseria in 1935. Professor Achille Benegiamo shaped the modern agricultural enterprise around attachment to the land, respect for natural rhythms and a generous, mutually supportive relationship with the local community.

Bulk-wine production in the 1940s

The estate’s documented winegrowing tradition began during the 1940s. In keeping with the commercial model of the period, wine was made in substantial quantities and sold in tank rather than bottled at the property.

Historic alberello vineyards

A Negroamaro vineyard in the countryside of San Pietro in Lama was planted as Puglian alberello in 1947. A surviving alberello planting of Primitivo dates from 1960. L’Astore later protected old Negroamaro bush vines from abandonment and uprooting, preserving them alongside its newer vineyards.

The quality project of the late 1990s

At the end of the 1990s, the family launched a new project focused on quality wine. Establishing the vineyards required geological analysis followed by extensive excavation, stone breaking and milling of the ground. Approximately 20 hectares were planted with Negroamaro, Primitivo, Malvasia Nera, Malvasia Bianca Antica and Susumaniello.

The project subsequently expanded into research on native varieties that had effectively disappeared from cultivation. Experimental vineyards were planted, developing into an ampelographic collection devoted to the grape heritage of Salento.

A subterranean barrel cellar was constructed beside the historic underground olive mill. Designed in the architectural language of Salento, it combines barrel and star vaults with local pietra leccese and carparo. Its church-like proportions led to the name “Cattedrale del Vino.”

Organic certification and the contemporary estate

Since 2010, the wines have carried certification as products made from organically grown grapes. The contemporary estate combines the replanted vineyards and conserved alberello vines with olive groves and arable land across approximately 80 hectares. Its activities now encompass wine and olive-oil production, hospitality, guided tastings, cooking courses and cultural events.

The vineyards are managed within a programme of clean, sustainable agriculture intended to respect both the cultivated landscape and the agricultural traditions that formed it. Since 2010, the wines have been certified as made from organically grown grapes.

The late-1990s vineyard project began with analysis of geological conditions and substantial physical preparation of the ground. The family replanted vineyards while also rescuing old Negroamaro alberello vines threatened by abandonment or removal. Its varietal programme concentrates on Negroamaro, Primitivo, Malvasia Nera, Malvasia Bianca Antica and Susumaniello.

Research into native grapes that had disappeared from ordinary cultivation led to new experimental plantings and an ampelographic collection of Salento varieties. The vineyard programme therefore combines commercially productive blocks, conserved historic vines and experimental genetic material. Guyot and traditional Puglian alberello are both represented, with the historic 1947 Negroamaro block producing particularly low average wine yields of 10–15 hl/ha.

The production complex links contemporary wine facilities with the historic agricultural architecture of the masseria. A subterranean barrel cellar was constructed beside the early-18th-century underground olive mill specifically for wine maturation. Its barrel and star vaults are built with local pietra leccese and carparo; its spatial arrangement is known as the Cattedrale del Vino.

Cellar work follows the permitted inputs and processes governing certified organic wine. Across the production programme, the available maturation vessels include stainless steel, cement, Georgian amphorae, tonneaux, other wood and bottle. The amphora range uses Georgian vessels for periods ranging from two months for rosato to five or six months for Malvasia Bianca and eight to twelve months for red Susumaniello. Historic-vine reds mature in tonneaux before further bottle ageing. The sparkling programme includes six months of Charmat–Martinotti refermentation for the rosé and spontaneous fermentation of residual grape sugar on the must’s own yeasts for the ancestral Brut Nature.

L’Astore Masseria presents itself as a community of farmers, winegrowers and olive growers. Its declared principles join attachment to the land with respect for natural rhythms and a generous relationship with the local community.

In the vineyards, that position is expressed through the conservation of the agricultural landscape, clean and sustainable cultivation, organic certification, replanting and the protection of old alberello vines from abandonment or removal. The recovery of disappearing local grapes and creation of an ampelographic collection extend the same principle from landscape conservation to the preservation of Salento’s viticultural heritage.

The estate places native grapes at the centre of its identity: Negroamaro connects the property to Grecìa Salentina, while Primitivo, Malvasia Nera, Malvasia Bianca Antica and Susumaniello broaden its expression of local cultivation. Traditional forms and materials coexist with modern production: historic bush vines, an ancient underground mill and a locally built vaulted cellar are used alongside stainless steel, cement, Georgian amphorae and contemporary sparkling-wine methods.

Community engagement follows the values associated with Achille Benegiamo. The masseria participates in cultural festivals, opens its historic spaces to public heritage initiatives and hosts experiences centred on wine, olive oil and Salento cooking.