Nothing stands still at Vini Valori. Rooted in Abruzzo’s Teramo Hills, this modern hub of winemaking has two aims; to make better wine year on year, and love the land where it grows.

Despite a stint as a professional footballer, winemaker Luigi Valori is a botanist by training, and he uses this expertise in his vineyards daily. The winery is certified 100% organic, and Luigi only treats his vines with copper. So rather than wiping out all threats, the grapes have to work that bit harder to fight off disease. The result is slightly smaller berries with thicker skins, which means more tannins (and therefore more antioxidants), colour and flavour in the finished wine, A far cry from some of those mass-produced examples of Montepulciano that you might be familiar with...

On top of practising organics, Luigi is also a passionate supporter of sustainability - not only of the environment, but also the wider community and market. For him, humans are the most important part of the winemaking journey, so rather than relying on technology or data, Luigi tastes his grapes regularly, and bases harvest timings entirely on his own decision that they are ready.