San Vito Romano is a hilltop village east of Rome, above the Sacco Valley on the fringes of the Apennines. It is not a place that appears on most wine maps. But Alfredo Mastropietro has spent a lifetime proving that its ancient grape varieties, farmed without chemicals on volcanic and mineral-rich soils, are capable of wines of real character and authenticity.
Backstory
The family's winemaking tradition stretches back to Alfredo's great-grandfather Pietro, born in 1878, who worked two hectares of vineyard alongside an olive grove. His grandfather Alfredo, born in 1907, expanded the land and focused on the Cascaglione hill, identified even then as one of the finest sites in the territory. The current Alfredo was born in 1966 and returned to viticulture as his primary activity in 1988, registering the company formally in 1987. He later co-founded the Sanvitis producers' association, which has worked to promote the native grape heritage of the area.
The Region
San Vito Romano sits on the edge of the Apennines in Lazio's hilly interior, where the influence of altitude brings cooler temperatures than Rome's coastal plain. The surrounding countryside, part of the broader Olevano Romano wine zone, has been cultivated since Roman times. Cesanese, the principal red grape of eastern Lazio, and Bellone, a white variety of ancient local heritage also known as Cacchione or Uvapane, thrive in these soils.
Vineyards and Farming
Alfredo farms 9 hectares of vineyard certified organic, with an additional 4 hectares of olive grove. The mission is explicit: cultivate without synthetic chemical products and make wine in a traditional and natural manner. Grape varieties include Bellone, Cesanese, Malvasia del Lazio, Trebbiano, and small plots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The vineyards in the Cascaglione hill parcel represent the oldest and most qualitative portion of the estate.
Winemaking
The Bianco del Mastro is made from Bellone with low-temperature skin maceration over approximately 48 hours, producing a lightly amber wine of wildflower aromatics and saline mineral finish. The Rosso del Mastro, from Cesanese, is produced with low-intervention methods, minimal sulfur addition at bottling (around 20 mg per litre), and no filtration or fining. The traditional Cesanese interpretation on the estate includes a passito-style version with grapes partially dried on the vine.
The Wines
Uvapane, the flagship white, presents Bellone in its purest form: skin-macerated, oxidatively complex, and deeply mineral. The Rosso del Mastro Cesanese delivers cherry, earth, and firm tannin with the rustic integrity of a wine made to accompany food. The Terre Rosse, a Bordeaux blend, represents a different facet of the estate and earned recognition at Vinitaly in 2002 with the 2000 vintage. The Ottonese cuvée rounds out a small, honest range.
