Music in the vineyard: Altarocca Wine Resort meets Primiano Di Biase

Emiliano Sirchia presents wine production as comparable to musical composition: identical basic materials can become different works according to instinct, taste and interpretation. The comparison reflects his own path from performing musician in Rome to founder and director of Cantina Altarocca and the Wine Resort.

Sirchia moved to Orvieto with his wife to begin an organic wine, olive-oil and hospitality project. It opened as a small agriturismo in 2002 and became a 38-unit Wine Resort in 2014, adding a spa, restaurant, gym and swimming pools. Wine and olive oil became central to its gastronomy, tastings, cosmetics, wine therapy and oil therapy.

The artistic project reunited Sirchia with his friend of approximately twenty years, multi-instrumentalist Primiano Di Biase. At sunset, Di Biase listened to the history of the grapes and improvised in an old vineyard, blending his performance with the natural sounds of the site. The resulting composition and planned later performances were intended for playback among the vines. The session centred on a fragile vineyard more than fifty years old that continued to produce organic fruit.