Lost and Found at the Podere Veneri Vecchio estate

A tuff stone farm in Castelvenere, Podere Veneri Vecchio, and a “heretic” winemaker, Raffaele Annichiarico, combine to produce a broad and ethereal wine: Perdersi e Ritrovarsi (Lost and Fond) 2014. 

Raffaele Annichiarico is the heart and soul of the Podere Veneri estate. After working for years as a microbiologist at a multinational company, in 1999 he made his dream come true and retired to the country where he bought an estate with a tuff stone farmhouse in Castelvenere that was surrounded by a few hectares of vineyards and acacia trees. He was nicknamed a “heretic” because of his winegrowing and winemaking approach that banned any use of chemicals and employed only natural methods.

His wines are not certified organic, which allows for a limited use of certain chemicals, nor are they biodynamic but made according to natural, biological cycles that involve ecological systems and protecting and fortifying the vines using fertilizers made from herbs like nettles and horsetail which are harvested, macerated and fermented. In the winery he only uses spontaneous yeasts that naturally grow in the vineyard. The wines thus reflect an unconditional love for the land they come from and tasting them takes you away from the material world.

The vines are ungrafted and, in accordance with peasant tradition, the vineyards are a mix of the classic varieties of the Sannio region: Aglianico, Sangiovese, Barbera del Sannio and Piedirosso. There are also some forgotten varietals that are typical to the small area where the winery is located, grapes like Cerreto, Grieco di Castelvenere and Agostinella. The estate’s four hectares of vineyards produce around 18,000 bottles of wine a year.

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