Collefrisio Winery was founded in 2004 by childhood friends Amedeo De Luca and Antonio Patricelli, who, it could be said, grew up together twice – once as youngsters in the rolling hills of Southern Italy’s Abruzzo region, and then again as entrepreneurs, setting up a winery that is at once modern and innovative yet also steeped in their combined family history. Both third generation winemakers, the Abruzzese duo recognize winemaking as their combined destiny. To them, the vineyards mean life.

The valley below the vineyards was once part of the linea Gustav, the dividing line between the allies and the Nazis, which was utterly destroyed during the Second World War. To this day, the large olive tree grows in front of the winery bears the scars of the shrapnel that flew this time – yet it grows on, its wounds enveloped by the surrounding vegetation. A symbol of peace, memory and resilience.

The winery itself is nestled in the hilly vineyards of Piane di Maggio, a municipality in the province of Chieti whose name recalls the promise of returning springs and generous fruits grown with love and respect for the land. The vineyards themselves are situated in a particularly favorable area in which to cultivate wine, with a soul made of both land and sea. The Adriatic’s saltwater breeze stretching embrace of the storied massif of the Majella Mountain create an ideal microclimate for the maturation of many varieties of grapes. It is little wonder, therefore, that this is a place where generations of families have entwined their identities – and their destinies – with the production and rituals surrounding wine.

Here, the De Luca and Patricelli families have held a partnership since the 1970s, when the small farms of rural Abruzzo began to embrace a more modern approach to agriculture, including the joining of cooperatives in order to support each other and provide for their children’s future through education beyond that of the field. Education that allowed subsequent generations to discover new ways of working and nurturing the land, such as the use of solar power, which provides renewable energy for the winery’s farm.

Amadeo and Antonio bring both the traditional and contemporary strands of their shared agricultural history to Collefrisio, along with a great deal of passion, the utmost commitment and discipline – along with a drop of healthy irreverence.