Tenacity and frankness: this is my feeling when I meet Valentina Di Camillo, a person out of the ordinary and strongly linked to her land and origins, Valentina who together with her brother Luigi, the official winemaker of the family, under the guidance of their parents Domenico and Tiziana, always very present, manage La Tenuta I Fauri in the hills of Chieti, in Abruzzo region.
Valentina welcomes us in their winery in Ari, a small town in the Teatino area, where the grapes are harvested from their 30 hectares of vineyards scattered between the sea and the hills , with different terroirs and exposures; different vines such as Montepulciano and Trebbiano, but also Pecorino, Passerina and some international spots as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay too, but all strictly linked by a unique common thread: extreme dedication to the vineyard and respect for it, so that the company – which already follows integrated pest management practices – will soon obtain organic certification.
It is a true family story the one of the Di Camillo family, or perhaps better known by their “nickname” Baldovino, which is handed down by his grandfather, then by his father and finally personified by his two sons Valentina and Luigi: they both started studying piano, then both decided, in different ways, to continue giving life to those fields of vines, but not only: they experiment – how to try to switch to a guyot breeding rather than the traditional tent, they dare – how to try to make sparkling wines from Pecorino grapes, tradition is inherited – such as the use of grandfather’s concrete barrels, maybe they also do mistakes, but they certainly do not stop learning and moving forward.
And when we are approaching to the wine tasting, everything becomes clear. Always accompanied by the vigor and the convivial pleasure of Valentina who tasted with us the entire products range, among the copious list of labels I could taste the delicate sparkling rosé Alba Rosa, noticed the difference in vintages between a Pecorino 2019 and a Pecorino 2016, I appreciated Trebbiano and Passerina, I fell in love with Cerasuolo, I was relaxing with Montepulciano Ottobre Rosso and I conclude by finding the piano on the label of Rosso dei Fauri, Montepulciano, aged 18 months in tonneau.
Last but not least, the labels: simple, clean and captivating style with a particular attention to detail, so that even the simple bag-in-boxes have their own story to tell.
Valentina Di Camillo, owner of La Tenuta I Fauri and myself.
At the end of this visit I feel like having shared a moment of authentic pleasure.
It could be for the many common values which came out during that couple of hours spent together, it could be for the satisfying sensation arising when I meet people who, driven by their tenacity and frankness, believe in what they do (and just for this reason they deserve all my greatest esteem)… well, I took the road back with a smile, impatient to reopen those bottles as soon as it is the right opportunity.