Fattoria La Valentina was established in 1990 in Spoltore, in the hills near Pescara.
Following the early years of research in the Santa Teresa vineyard, the winery's objective and passion became the quest for quality and the desire to promote the Abruzzese DOCs.
Two new developments representing our progress with this goal occurred in 1998: the Binomio project was established, and Luca D'Attoma took over the technical management of the cellars and vineyards.
We began to understand, respect and care for our land a little more in order to obtain healthier, more authentic wines every year. We make increasing use of farming methods that limit the use of chemicals and technology since we are convinced that this is the way to improve in quality.
We interfere as little as possible in the land's natural processes, adhering to the idea that "The premise for the DOC is the mark the vine leaves on its grapes". Our wines are made by nature and our work should not inhibit the expression of the vine. We seek to respect the fruit of our land both on the vine and in the bottle, and to practice winemaking that allows for the fullest expression of our region's special qualities.
Thanks to the features of the microclimate and region and vines well-suited to this land, our wines have a distinctive and unique character. The nearby forests, hills or mountains, and the varying winds are all determining factors in expressing the vine's originality.
Hence our wines: Binomio, made exclusively from the grapes of a 4-hectare vineyard in San Valentino in Abruzzo Criteriore; Bellovedere and Spelt, from grapes from the Spoltore vineyards.
Our aim is to make consistently authentic wine
Santa Teresa vineyard
Our main vineyard winds around the winery, on a hill a few kilometres from the Adriatic Sea, south/south-west facing, overlooking the Maiella and Gran Sasso massifs. Five hectares of Montepulciano vines and two of Trebbiano were planted 27 years ago on soil of a clayey nature: along with the particular local climate due to the proximity of the sea and mountains, this feature enhances the typical characteristics of the vine varieties planted here.
"Spelt" and "Bellovedere" are made from this vineyard.
San Valentino vineyard
San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore near the Maiella mountain, about 20km from the winery, in an area that is hot and dry in summer and very cold in winter. In 1999 we purchased a four hectare farm there with our friend Stefano Inama, at an altitude of about 500m a.s.l., planted entirely with Montepulciano. The position of the land is very attractive, and the 2000+m Maiella is close by. It was no coincidence that we chose this particular vineyard: the classic Montepulciano clone planted over thirty years ago in this unique microclimate has a highly personal, unmistakeably typical expression.
Binomio is made from this vineyard.
The modern winery is surrounded by Montepulciano and Trebbiano vineyards, uses avant-garde technology and is divided into two buildings.
The main building of around 1,000m² is further divided into three parts: the first contains the press, the steel fermentation vats, and the large capacity stainless steel vats. The second contains the barrique cellar with about 500 barriques and truncated cone-shape oak barrels, used for fermentation and ageing. Lastly, the third section contains the bottling line and the medium-sized stainless steel vats.
The other building has a brick bottle-ageing area and 25hl oak barrels.
The total capacity is 7,000hl.