Tucked into the Pescara province of Abruzzo, the small town of Scafa is not a name that appears often in wine conversations. But the Cipressi family has been making wine here since 1971, when they planted their first vineyard, and they have been farming organically since 1990 -- long before that word carried any marketing value. Their estate, operated under the Duchi di Castelluccio label and known on export markets as Tenuta Cipressi, is one of Abruzzo's quieter success stories.
The Estate
The Cipressi family's roots in Scafa trace back to 1889, though the modern winery was formally established in 1971 and converted to organic viticulture in the early 1990s. Today the estate is guided by the grandchildren of the founding generation. Multiple vineyard parcels -- including the historic Podere, the Quattro Contrade, and the Tenuta Zappino, named for its consistent winds and meticulous upkeep -- feed grapes into the cellar. The wines are 100% organic, certified natural, and fully BioVegan: no animal-derived fining agents, clarifiers, or additives appear anywhere in the production chain.
The Wines
The core range draws on Abruzzo's classic grape varieties. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo produces deep, structured reds with dark berry fruit and earthy complexity; the Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo rosé -- made by brief skin contact with Montepulciano -- is one of the region's signature wines: vivid pink, savory, and built for the table. The John Doe Moscato Orange is the wild card: a skin-contact wine from 50-year-old Moscato vines, macerated for two weeks in cement vats, producing an orange wine of unusual aromatic intensity and texture. All wines ferment with native yeasts and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
A Region Worth Watching
Abruzzo has spent years in the shadow of Tuscany and Piedmont, but a generation of committed small producers is changing that. Tenuta Cipressi is part of that movement: wines with a clear sense of place, farmed without shortcuts, made for people who want something real.
