L'Acino set out to express the often-overlooked possibilities of Calabrian terroir. Founded by three friends from the mountain town of San Marco Argentano, the estate has grown into one of the region's most compelling voices for indigenous grapes and natural winemaking.
Backstory
Dino Briglio founded L'Acino in 2006 with two childhood friends, Antonello Canonico and Emilio Di Cianni, who have since amicably moved on. At the start none had viticultural training: Antonello was a film director, Dino a historian, Emilio a lawyer. Their first vineyard was a single hectare of the white grape Mantonico bought from an old farmer who found the land too hard to work. Dino has been fully at the helm since 2016.
The Region
The estate lies in San Marco Argentano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the border of Pollino National Park, the largest natural park in Italy.
Vineyards and Farming
Dino works around ten hectares of owned vines and rents another five, mostly older plantings, farmed organically. He is the son and grandson of farmers, and although self-taught, the work has proved instinctive. The vineyards are planted to ancient Calabrian varieties including Mantonico, Guarnaccia Bianca, Greco and Pecorello among the whites and Magliocco among the reds.
Winemaking
Wines ferment on their native yeasts, mostly in stainless steel, with no additions or subtractions save a small amount of sulfur at bottling. The approach is firmly minimal-intervention, without technological tricks.
The Wines
The range includes the Chora Bianco and Chora Rosso bottlings alongside other expressions of Calabria's indigenous white and red grapes.
