I sold my first bottle of wine when I was 20. I didn't yet have a driving license and I was traveling by train throughout the province, overloaded with bottles of wine I produced for the restaurateurs to taste. I knew the area well because I had recently graduated from the agricultural institute of Reggio Calabria with a chemistry specialization.
I was born and raised in Bivongi, a tiny village at the northern end of the province of Reggio Calabria, on the Ionian coast. The town has always been known, throughout the region, for being a land of winemakers and the wine it produces for being a cheerful, convivial, festive product.
I soon discovered that I was passionate about doing this job more than anything else and I decided to deepen my knowledge by working for a large winery that produced local wine, gaining twenty years of experience in the wine field which also earned me the title of Oenologist.
In 1998 I decided to start my own company and begin to diversify the production, ranging from still white aperitif wine, through a red, ending with a dessert wine, chosen to be part of this selection. Furthermore, in the meantime, the Bivongi area (about 30 hectares of vineyards) was proclaimed a controlled designation of origin: a prestigious title for such a small reality.
My property extends in the Bivongi DOC area, on 3 pre-existing family vineyards of which I took care of the new planting, for a total of approximately 3 hectares where only and exclusively native vines are grown: Gaglioppo, Greco Nero, Calabrese Nero, Ansonica and white Malvasia. The soils, steep and alluvial or clayey in nature, and exposed to the sun for almost the whole day, contribute to making the character of our wines full-bodied and decisive.
Right from the start, and by vocation, I chose to adopt the organic farming method, obtaining certification for all the company's products. Fruit trees and wild herbs grow together with the vines and we often also host little birds that decide to nest among the leaves of the vines, increasing environmental biodiversity.
I have always believed in the potential of the territory that hosts me and the fruits that this land gives me and I, as a guest, try to thank it every day as best I can.
Cosimo Murace