“…e intanto riede alla sua parca mensa, fischiando, il zappatore…”.Giacomo Leopardi
(…meanwhile the laborer goes whistling home, back to his frugal meal…)
I saw these verses of Giacomo Leopardi take life right in front of my eyes.
From early childhood I observed
men return home with their shoulders covered with dust and sweat, after a hard day’s work in the fields, in the vineyards and in the olive fields.
Despite the fatigue, my grandparents always had faces full of dignity and satisfaction, knowing that with their sacrifices
They had allowed their children and grandchildren to have a better quality
of life then theirs, as their parents and grandparents had done for them.
You know, nature knows how to be generous with those who are patient and hard working, and it is to these that she gives her gifts.
It took three generations
to allow my parents to graduate and be able to pursue careers outside the agricultural field.
Such is the fate that I pursued myself.
The ancestral need to get back to one’s roots is always around the corner, especially when they are sunk in fertile and unspoiled soils.
My father has never really moved away from the farm and family traditions,
made of sunny days under the “huts” (the typical name the area to indicate
the vineyards), taking care of the grapes that
in the fall and winter would fill the days
with their smells and flavors.
This could only happen when nature gave her consent, with the right moon phase
and the absence of wind.
What was initially a second job, became gradually our main activity, which has led our family company to grow and modernize, making my father a man known throughout the region as a good grower of grapes.
While his passion led him to improve the family winemaking traditions, the main goal has remained to share the fruits of the earth with family, loved ones and and close friends.
Finally we come to me. Since early adolescence, I have always participated in my family’s activities, although sometimes reluctantly, with a love-hate relationship with the peasant life.
When we are young we are often rebellious, trying to deny where you came from,
not fully understanding the beauty of those scenes, the satisfaction you will feel
when you see things grow right in front of your eyes thanks to your care and sacrifices.
But the earth is always charming and will eventually recall her children to her.
So here I am introducing myself to you,
with a company and products that carry inside them the traditions and knowledge
of five generations.
I present myself with the dignity and humility of one who knows its roots,
and finds a great source of pride in them.
Here then are our wines,
the wines of Nic Tartaglia.
Our farm is in a little village called Alanno, in the county of Pescara, 1150 feet above the sea level, between the Adriatic sea and the main mountains of the Appenini range (the Gran Sasso d’Italia and the Majella) all of them within an half hour drive.
Since ancient times the area has been used for vineyards, with the training system of alberello (little trees) until the sixties, and then pergola abruzzese from the seventies. Winters are harsh with plentiful snow, and summers are cool and sunny. The rain are quite conspicuous and the farm area is windy.
These continuous thermal changes, together with the terroir, made of clay grounds and limestone grounds all very fertile, make possible to grow grapes with rich fragrances, colors and high sugar dose. The climate, bonded with the features of our autochthonous and international vines, gives great smells, tastes, alcohol content, brilliance and shades to our wines, making them unmistakable and of excellent quality.
The farm vineyards are around 12 hectares. We grow the indigenous Montepulciano, Trebbiano Abruzzese and Pecorino, and the internationals Chardonnay, Cabernet, Riesling. The wines are DOC, sottozona Casauria (soon to be DOCG) and IGT depending on kind.
