The five spent more and more time on the land, working organically and regrafting their small vineyard to Campania’s tannic Aglianico and fruit-driven Piedirosso grape varieties. “My father said, ‘How is it possible we can’t make a quality wine here?’” Allegra says.Īllegra Selvaggi added a Piedrosso to Galardi's lineup, joining the flagship Aglianco blend. An existing one-acre vineyard, planted to Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, sat at more than 1,200 feet, facing west with views of the Gulf of Gaeta 10 miles away. Caserta province, after all, had been part of the old agricultural region that the Bourbon rulers of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies (1816–1861) had formally designated Terra di Lavoro (Land of Work). There is no tradition there, and it is in the middle of nowhere,’” says Allegra.īut Roberto persisted, believing that history was on his side. Roberto called his friend Cotarella for advice. More than three decades ago, the couple and three other family members began thinking about planting vineyards to produce a red wine. The son of a politician, Roberto married Maria Luisa Murena, whose noble southern family owned more than 700 acres of oak and chestnut forests here. Its story-as romantic and operatic as Southern Italy itself-began with the vision of Selvaggi’s father, Roberto, a Rome-based historian, journalist and advocate for southern Italian causes. “It’s important for me that we stay the same size, the same quality, and that the wines come from our vineyards.” The Land of Work: How Galardi Beganįor much of Galardi’s history, it ran more on dreams than business. “Galardi will remain more or less as it is today,” she says. Capaldo will help increase Galardi’s profile and return it to the U.S. “If we just bought Galardi without the family and Allegra,” he says, “it would have been a massive destruction of value.” He also gave her the possibility of earning back an ownership stake. “Galardi is one of the top Italian wines, and I’ve been impressed and inspired by the work they did,” says group president Antonio Capaldo, who promises to be a “silent owner.”Ĭapaldo bought Galardi from the four family branches that owned it, but only after convincing Allegra to stay on as estate director. However, Selvaggi will continue to run the estate, and renowned enologist Riccardo Cotarella will stay on as winemaker. In June, Tenute Capaldo, the Campania-based wine group that grew out of Feudi di San Gregorio, bought Galardi winery and its vineyards. Once she turned the winery around, that attracted attention. Galardi, a small estate with a celebrated flagship red called Terra di Lavoro, has long been the most noted winery in Caserta province, about 40 miles north of Naples.Īfter moving full time to this lush volcanic countryside, Selvaggi has applied her methodical ways to management and become Galardi’s face to the world. Coming here “was a bit of an obligation, but it became a passion.” “Wine wasn’t always a passion for me,” says Selvaggi, 37, who recalls trading her micro-car for a pickup truck to navigate the forested slopes of Campania’s extinct Roccamonfina volcano, on which the winery sits. She left her career as a strategic sustainable energy planner in Rome to run Fattoria Galardi, their pioneering boutique winery, which had fallen on hard times. Allegra Selvaggi wasn’t supposed to be running her family’s small wine estate in a remote corner of southern Italy.īut five years ago she was summoned by her family.
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