Halfway between San Severo and Lucera, in the heart of the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Alberto Longo has renovated an ancient 17th-century farmhouse and built inside it a modern, eco-sustainable winery that has become the standard-bearer for Lucera’s Cacc’e Mmitte, a denomination that long fell into oblivion.
Since the 1960s, the Longo family has cultivated vineyards and olive groves in the hills of the Northern Daunia. There Alberto learned that there are no wings without roots; in fact, his roots are his strength. Strong ties to his affections and homeland, consolidated by distance, gave him the energy and tenacity to take flight and build a successful career while keeping his feet on the ground and his head on his shoulders. After graduating with a degree in economics, the activity of auditing and consulting to businesses and financial institutions has taken off and taken him around the world.
Homecoming to value his land
Twenty-five years ago, his love for his land, his passion for wine and his desire to carry on the family winemaking tradition confronted him with a new challenge. V alorizing an area of Apulia sidelined by social issues and with lines of communication in disrepair. But rich in history, culture and breathtaking landscapes among green hills, wheat fields and forests. Promoting a model of experiential wine tourism by trying to create a connection between territory, local community and wine production was and is its goal.
“I am born in the earth – tells Alberto Longo -. I worked in the fields with my parents until a week before my thesis discussion. Then I joined KPMG, an international consulting firm, and my life changed. But I decided to limit my professional activity to devote myself body and soul to wine and wine tourism “.
Masseria Celentano was the sheep trail where Alberto’s dad and mom first met in the 1950s. Galeotta was the transhumance of shepherds arriving from Abruzzo. The masseria was bought by Alberto and restored to its former glory, today it is a magnificent resort, a brick fireplace dominates in the restaurant hall. The 14 rooms retain their vaulted ceilings and wooden beams, and surrounded by greenery the large swimming pool makes a fine show. Tourists come from all over the world and are enchanted, it remains a happy island for now but the context albeit slowly is changing.
They are 35 hectares of vineyards owned, divided between the farms of Fattoria Cavalli, 8 hectares, and Masseria Celentano, 27 hectares. The farms, guyot-trained, combine the high density of vines per hectare with the very low yield of grapes per plant. The sustainability is a key theme for Alberto Longo, a value pursued through the use of photovoltaic panels to have self-generated electricity. To which is added the geothermal plant, which practically absorbs heat from the ground to pour it back into the rooms in winter and, conversely, absorbs heat from the rooms by pouring it back into the ground in summer.
The hub of the territory: Alberto Longo Cacc’e Mmitte of Lucera
Lucera’s Cacc’e Mmitte is a blend of red grapes with a small percentage of white grapes typical in the towns of Lucera, Troia and Biccari. The name, extravagant, comes from the dialect expression “cacc’e mmitte” which derives from theancient wine-making procedure of the peasants of Lucera, who rented the facilities of wealthy landowners and put (mmitte) their own grapes and then at the end of fermentation removed their wine (cacc’e) to make room for the next winemaker.
“In the late 1990s, the Svevo winery was the only producer, the company was in dire straits, and the Cacc’e mmitte had disappeared from Apulian tables – explains Alberto Longo -. I thus set myself the goal of reviving this Doc., I leased the land, planted the vineyards in the area of the Cacc’e Mmitte and renovated the buildings of the Cavalli winery. The DOC was established in 1976; a year earlier the San Severo DOC had been created. Once the Cacc’e Mmitte was vinified locally and bottled by a cooperative in Corato and was a loaded rosé, only later was the Svevo winery founded“.
The grapes mentioned in the specification are: uva di Troia locally called Sumarello, then Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Malvasia nera di Brindisi, Trebbiano toscano, Bombino bianco and Malvasia Bianca. To date, in addition to Alberto Longo, there are five wineries that have resumed production: Agricole Paglione, Masseria nel Sole, Paolo Petrilli and la Marchesa winery.
Alberto Longo’s other dream in the drawer is to handing over the baton to his young son Giovanni, but he will be free to choose whether and how to carry on his father’s project or find his own way. “My father does not direct me – says Giovanni Longo – let me decide what I want to do but at the same time try to transmit to me the passion towards our land and the company. Definitely food and wine will be part of my life “.
Cacc’e mmitte di Lucera 2021 Alberto Longo
Pungeggio: 94/100
Approximate price in wine shop: € 15.00
55% Nero di Troia, 30% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, 15% Bombino Bianco. 6 months in cement. Intense ruby. Rich and very clean nose, with notes of plum and morello cherry then balsamic hints, spice and bay leaf. The mouth is highly concentrated, full-bodied and with an excellent tannic texture. Final really enjoyable, harmonious and very long.
