Storia
Seventeenth-century origins
Masseria Celentano is a seventeenth-century masseria in the Tavoliere delle Puglie. Its vaulted rooms, wooden roof beams and large brick fireplace preserve visible evidence of more than four centuries of history. It later became the Longo family home, surrounded by vineyards that now extend over approximately 27 hectares.
The Longo family’s agricultural tradition
Since the 1960s, the Longo family has cultivated vineyards and olive groves in the countryside around San Severo and Pietramontecorvino, on the hills of northern Daunia. Alberto Longo participated in the family’s agricultural work from childhood and developed the ambition to continue its winegrowing tradition while increasing production potential through technology.
A new wine business
Agricole Alberto Longo was founded in 2000. Masseria Celentano became one of its two principal vineyard properties and the identity behind a dedicated range of IGT Puglia wines. The estate’s approximately 27 hectares supply grapes for this range, which places tradition at the centre of its identity.
Restoration and hospitality
By June 2021, the historic masseria had undergone a comprehensive restoration as a country resort. Its surviving stonework was carefully conserved, while lost elements were replaced using materials consistent with those employed in the seventeenth century. The restored complex combined the Longo family residence and vineyards with a restaurant, five guest rooms, one suite and a swimming pool. Antique furnishings and Grottaglie ceramics were selected for its interiors.
Terroir
Masseria Celentano lies in northern Puglia, in the Tavoliere delle Puglie near San Severo and the ancient city of Lucera. Approximately 27 hectares of vineyards adjoin the historic masseria.
The growing area is exposed to Balkan winds, which create a pronounced difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. These conditions allow the grapes to reach physiological maturity while retaining balance between sugars and acidity and developing substantial phenolic extractability.
Vinificazione
The estate vineyards are Guyot-trained. Vineyard management follows production rules that combine a high density of vines per hectare with a very low quantity of grapes from each plant. The resulting average yield is approximately 80–90 quintals per hectare, or about 8–9 tonnes per hectare.
Harvesting for the Masseria Celentano range is mechanical. The agricultural operation is presented as organic, and wine, olive oil, pasta, fruit and vegetables are produced on its own land without harmful chemical substances or products. These products are also used in the winery and hospitality operation as estate-grown, zero-kilometre ingredients.
Production and bottling are handled through Agricole Alberto Longo’s winery in Lucera, housed in a restored nineteenth-century agricultural complex. Advanced equipment permits control and management of each stage of production, vinification and bottling.
A newer building adjoining the historic structure contains the bottling line and warehouse. Finished wines are stored there and prepared for shipment. The barrel cellar occupies former grain-storage pits; controlled light, temperature and humidity provide the conditions used for maturation.
Filosofia
Masseria Celentano presents tradition as the central principle of its wine range. Its broader agricultural philosophy links wine quality with respect for the land and with deliberate choices intended to develop the resources provided by the local environment.
The Longo family sees wine as a means of representing the natural, historical and cultural identity of northern Daunia. This connection also shapes the Masseria Celentano labels, which reproduce motifs associated with the Dauni, the Aegean people who inhabited the area corresponding to the modern province of Foggia between the tenth and third centuries BC.
Environmental responsibility is framed as the cumulative effect of practical everyday actions: producing food on estate land without harmful chemicals, limiting unnecessary consumption, generating renewable electricity, reusing materials and selecting organic, natural and local products.