Cantine Benvenuto

Cantine Benvenuto was born from a homecoming. Giovanni Benvenuto, raised in Abruzzo, returned at eighteen to Calabria, his father's native land, trained as an agronomist and set about reviving the vineyards his grandfather once worked.

Backstory

Giovanni built the winery on family land in Francavilla Angitola, driven by the potential he saw in Calabria's overlooked terroir and grapes. A defining mission became the recovery of the rare Zibibbo di Pizzo, a varietal otherwise destined for extinction, for which he gathered fellow small producers and helped form a Slow Food Presidium.

The Region

The estate lies in Francavilla Angitola, in Calabria, southern Italy, a sun-soaked region whose indigenous varieties are only now regaining attention.

Vineyards & Farming

The winery focuses on native grapes including Zibibbo, Malvasia, Greco Nero and Magliocco, farmed with organic methods. Every grape is hand-harvested into small cases, with care taken to respect both nature and the rhythm of the land.

Winemaking

From vineyard to cellar the guiding commitment is the preservation of nature, valorizing the territory and working with the timing nature imposes rather than against it.

The Wines

The range spans the rescued Zibibbo, fresh whites and rosatos, and reds such as the Terra Calabria blend of Greco Nero and Magliocco. Benvenuto's Zibibbo took first place among whites at the Radici del Sud competition, recognition for a producer betting on Calabria's forgotten grapes.

Italian Wine Regions

Valpolicella is versatility in a glass—cherry-bright Valpolicella, velvet Ripasso, and contemplative Amarone, all shaped by...
Etna is energy in a glass: Nerello Mascalese and Carricante channel lava flows, altitude, and...
Barolo is Nebbiolo at its most articulate—perfume and power shaped by Tortonian and Serravallian soils...

French Wine Regions

Savoie, nestled in the heart of the French Alps, represents one of France's most distinctive...
The Rhône Valley, in southeastern France, borders the Alps to the east and the Massif...
Bordeaux, located in southwestern France, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and...

Natural Winemakers

Heydi Bonanini practices heroic viticulture on terraced cliffs above Riomaggiore, producing Cinque Terre whites and the legendary Sciacchetra from rescued indigenous varieties.
Weingut Niklas is a family-run Alto Adige estate in Kaltern where Dieter Solva farms 7 hectares of calcareous mountain soils to produce precise, aromatic whites and structured Lagrein reds that have carried the family name for over 50 years.
A molecular biology graduate turned sparkling-wine cult figure, Michael Cruse founded Cruse Wine Co. in Petaluma to make fresh, serious, distinctly Californian wine, including old-vine Valdiguie.