Winery Tour and Wine Tasting in the Rieti Countryside

Where ancient vines, mountain air, and the rediscovered Cesanese grape tell the story of a land shaped by centuries of cultivation.

This Rieti countryside winery tour brings visitors inside a family-run vineyard perched between 610 and 650 meters above sea level, where organic viticulture, a 15th-century cellar, and four curated wine tastings combine into a single, grounded experience. The visit is designed for those who want to understand wine through landscape and memory rather than through a script. It is accessible, unhurried, and rooted in genuine local tradition.

The vineyards sit at the edge of the Rieti basin, sheltered by the slopes of Monte Terminillo. High altitude, mineral-rich soils, and consistent mountain breezes create growing conditions that render chemical intervention unnecessary. The estate works entirely without synthetic fertilizers or herbicides, relying instead on cover cropping and hand labor to maintain biodiversity across every parcel.

The property traces its documented history to the 15th century, and the original stone vats in the underground cellar survive as working evidence of that past. Restored without losing their integrity, the cellars now serve a dual function: housing the secondary fermentation of sparkling wines produced using the traditional method, and providing the stable cool environment required for aging wines in large oak casks.

The visit culminates with the story of the Cesanese of Castelfranco, an indigenous grape variety that came close to disappearing before being officially recognized as a distinct local cultivar in 2017. Today it anchors the estate's identity, producing a ruby-red wine marked by wild berries, cocoa, and a trace of black pepper — a bottle that tastes precisely like the land it comes from.