Castorani
With over 200 years of history Podere Castorani spreads across 75 acres of lush countryside in the province of Pescara, Italy, between Majella National Park and the Adriatic Sea. The estate’s principal grape varieties are Montepulciano d'Abruzzo in red and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo in white. The partners regularly test new grape varieties in a perpetual search for the fullest expression of the terroir. At Podere Castorani, their pursuit of excellence can only be satisfied through respect for traditional expertise.
To understand how Castorani first got its start, we must go back to the beginning, in 1793. At that time, renowned ocular surgeon Raffaele Castorani became proprietor of the estate. At the end of the First World War, Antonio Casulli took over the estate with a vision of expanding production and boosting Castorani’s reputation. Upon his death, the vineyard was divided, and its decline began. Many years would pass before the estate would undergo a revival. In 1999, pilot Jarno Trulli decided to fully commit himself to coaxing the iconic Castorani estate back to life, with the help of his friends. They worked painstakingly together, and in harmony with nature, the thirty-year-old vines grew organically.
What is interesting about Podere Castorani is the way Jarno and Lucio have joined new technology and long-lasting traditions in their wine making process. The winery is certified organic as are the grapes. They use cement tanks to produce their wines not stainless steel like most wineries do. They also use 500L tonneaux instead of standard 225L barriques. Using three types of Oak Russian, French and American. They have developed with the help of Jarno's former Toyota Formula 1 engineers and the University of La Tuscia a cool air humidity controlled drying room for the grapes. Using this humidity-controlled room, they dry the grapes to produce an Amarone style Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and a white Amarone style wine using Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Malvasia and Cococciola grapes. These are the Jarno range. The first vintage was in 2000. The bottles of wine from the estate tell a beautiful story of passion, tradition and quality. Villa Castorani lies in an ideal setting: in the municipality of Alanno, in the province of Pescara, between the Majella national park and the nearby Adriatic Sea. Sitting at 350 meters above sea level, it enjoys ideal sun exposure and night winds, and consequently, great thermal range. All of it gives the wines their unique and precious character.
