There is a vineyard that, for us, is much more than just a piece of ground. We affectionately call it ‘Sott a la cas’ - since, well, it is right there, under the house. But over time we decided to give it a name that better captured its essence: ‘Brio’. A name that sounds like a reminder of the life, passion and resilience of those who cultivate it.
If I were to tell you the story of the last sixty years of this vineyard, it would be a bit like flipping through a family album, full of moments of sweat, laughter, and, yes, a few tears, indeed, many tears. In the early 1900s, this land was used for simple crops - wheat and alfalfa, practical stuff to feed livestock. The vineyard? Well, it was still a far-away dream.
Then came the Second World War, and with it came chaos. Imagine: our land, close to the Gustav Line, was plundered by German troops.
They stole everything from us, even the animals. At that point, we could have surrendered, but anyone who knows Grandpa Piacentino knows that surrender was never an option. He, with no livestock and a family to support, decided to convert that land below the house into a vineyard.
Piacentino started planting vine shoots, small vine seedlings, and cultivated them as if they were little treasures. Each seedling was not just a vine, but a hope for a better future. And as he saved up money to finally buy a pair of oxen, he could only hope that his choice would change the destiny of our family.
In the 1960s, the big breakthrough came.
We still remember the euphoria when, in 1964, we bought our first tractor. It might look like just a pile of metal pieces, but for us it was a revolution. Grandma Lucia still recounts with a smile the day she was finally able to bring grass to the animals without being thrown to the ground by the wayward mare. With that little tractor, life in the countryside became much lighter.
And as if the tractor wasn't enough, in the same years we abandoned the old low vineyards and replaced them with modern marquee vineyards.
Today, when we walk among the rows of vines in ‘Brio’, we like to think about how we managed to turn every challenge into an opportunity. That small plot of land has become our pride: a place where we grow Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Pinot Grigio and Pecorino, all grapes that we carefully select, bunch by bunch, by hand.
But ‘Brio’ is not just tradition. Technology has played its part: we ferment at a controlled temperature to preserve every aroma, every nuance that nature gives us. And so, every bottle of wine we produce is not just a product - it is a liquid story, carrying with it the taste of time, sweat, and that stubborn mare that today makes us smile at the mere thought.
When you drink a glass of our wine, know that you are sipping the history of grandpa Piacentino, of Grandma Lucia, of a family that has put down deep roots, just like the vines of ‘Brio’.
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