Torrevento

1948

The brothers Domenico and Francesco Liantonio bought an abandoned monastery building, dating from the beginning of the 18th century, together with the surrounding land. The Liantonio family has run Torrevento's wine trade and winemaking business since that year. After a long and extensive restoration, the monastery was converted into a winery.

From 1989

Dr. Francesco Liantonio, who left his professorship to join the family business, has led the company since 1989. Under his direction it began making wines typical of Puglia, combining the region's winemaking traditions with modern technology. The vineyards came to focus mainly on native varieties: Negroamaro, Bombino Nero, Bombino Bianco, Nero di Troia and Aglianico. Francesco recalls that most local winemakers considered this approach of little potential or even crazy, and that time proved him right.

Today

The company owns around 200 hectares of vineyards and leases roughly the same area from local farmers under long-term agreements. It is certified as a producer of organic wines. Its wines are sold in Italy and in Australia, China, Japan, Canada, the USA and many European countries.

Torrevento lies near Castel del Monte, in Puglia, in the northwestern part of the Murge plateau. The vineyards cover a wide range of soils and microclimates, which allows the most suitable sites to be chosen for each grape variety.

Strict controls on vineyard health keep the use of vine protection products to a minimum. The company is certified as a producer of organic wines. Sites are matched to each grape variety according to soil and microclimate.

The main production facility is in an old monastery from the beginning of the 18th century, restored over a long period and converted into a winery. Its stone walls, up to 1.5 metres thick, keep temperature and humidity stable. The cellars were carved 8 metres deep into the rock for ageing and storing wine. The approach combines Puglia's winemaking traditions with modern technology.

The company describes its wines as a true expression of their terroir, with a well-balanced, generous taste and rich, fragrant aromas that reflect the land of Puglia and its ancient culture. Francesco Liantonio holds that focusing on native varieties and typical Puglian wines was the right course, despite local scepticism.