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90 years of history for Cupertinum, the social winery of Copertino. Focused not only on wine production, but also on social, cultural and tourism promotion. Annalucia Galeone tells us about it.
Cupertinum, the social winery of Copertino, the oldest cooperative in the province of Lecce, turns 90 years old. Since 1935, the winery’s history has been marked by growth. Breaking free from the stereotype of a southern winery destined to do more quantity than quality, Cupertinum has embarked on a new path. The mission is Combining production with social, cultural and tourism promotion. A challenge that is yielding much satisfaction .
Today the winery is more than a production area, it is a place to promote the educational experience In collaboration between social and land-enhancement realities, in synergy between the public and private sectors. At Cupertinum, the social declination is more than a designation: it is a vocation. The first members were 36 small winemakers; today there are 350 with four hundred hectares under cultivation in total and a production that is close to one million bottles, most destined for Northern Europe.
Social aggregation the initial spirit
“The goal of our founders was to to enhance cooperation and to deal directly with the winemaking of their own grapes and the trading of wines – recounts President Francesco Trono -. It was an initial form of aggregation, we are keen to pass on the spirit of our ancestors by paying special attention to sociability and being together with cultural and social initiatives aimed especially at younger people.”
Ten years ago, a small vineyard with Negroamaro saplings was planted in the area surrounding the winery, there they organize the days dedicated to agri-culture with school visits and the courses on beekeeping and culture on oil and olives. The grape harvest and the “capucanale” are now regular events with the children and youth of the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Lecce.
I kids are the protagonists, they are personally involved in the grape harvest in the vineyard, they can discover with their hands the bunches and berries of grapes and smell their fragrance. The most fun part is the barefoot crushing stage in the vats and tasting the grape juice. The blind dinners organized by the athletes of the blind soccer team to self-finance their travels are an unforgettable experience, to be had at least once in a lifetime. During the dinner g guests are served by blind waiters, i.e., the players themselves. “The blind dinners are a tool to make sighted people understand what it means to live with visual impairment.” concludes the president.
The “fortified” vineyard on the Angevin castle of Copertino
Cupertinum ‘s commitment to the activity of revaluing the area was perfected with the creation of the “Vineyard on the castle“. In the heart of the town, on the ramparts of Copertino’s Angevin castle is the only fortified vineyard in the world.
This is a project that has no equal either in Italy or abroad and has obtained the support of the Superintendence for Architectural and Landscape Heritage of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto and the Management of the Copertino Castle. The vineyard was planted in 2014 and consists of Negroamaro Cannellino vines, an ancient early variety rediscovered by Antonio Calò, the president from the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine.
For more than four decades Severino Garofano, the pioneer of Salento wines was Cupertinum’s winemaker. Copertino Rosso Riserva, Cupertinum’s flagship wine, remains one of his masterpieces alongside Taurino’s Patriglione and Vallone’s Graticciaia. Since 2010, the baton has passed to winemaker Joseph Pizzolante which aims to do better and better. New entries were presented at the last Vinitaly: l’Aldieri Primitivo Salento Igt and the Poggiani Negroamaro Salento Igt.
