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savor An Authentic taste of southern Italy

Selvarossa dei Confratelli Riserva, Salento

6 bottles – ~~$239.94~~ $167.94 ($27.99 per bottle)
12 bottles – ~~$479.88~~ $311.88 ($25.99 per bottle)

Angelo Maci is a rare gem. A third-generation winemaker, he manifests a passion for local wine seldom seen elsewhere. This is your exclusive opportunity to taste the “crowning glory” of the wine co-op he founded more than 30 years ago, helping to preserve the viticultural traditions of southern Italy.

Angelo was born and raised in Salento, Puglia, a rural stretch of Italy’s “stiletto” considered to be the country’s agricultural hub. Upon taking the lead at his family’s wine cellar in 1971, his eyes were opened to the struggles of local vine growers here. He watched as they toiled for next to nothing, while middlemen got rich selling their fruit in bulk and the region’s vinous reputation became increasingly sullied.

That’s when he had an idea. He began persuading these farmers to join him in a community winemaking effort, a true cooperative where they could focus on sustainability in the vineyard and quality in the cellar. And in 1989, he officially founded Cantine Due Palme with 15 partner growers.

“It was a way to allow all of them to receive fair compensation—an opportunity to share value, to share wealth, to revive Puglia,” says Angelo. “A peasant civilization like ours, which has grown grapes for millennia, needed a choral work in order to to be restored."

savor An Authentic taste of southern Italy

Selvarossa dei Confratelli Riserva, Salento

6 bottles – ~~$239.94~~ $167.94 ($27.99 per bottle)
12 bottles – ~~$479.88~~ $311.88 ($25.99 per bottle)

A collaborative Cuvée

Today, the co-op counts 1,000+ members—managing some 7,500 acres of vines between them—and has won an impressive amount of awards. (This includes three Vinitaly ‘Winery of the Year’ titles, as well as ‘Co-op Cellar of the Year’ from leading wine guide, Gambero Rosso.)

If you’re one of the many to have tried our bestselling Pillastro wines, you’re already familiar with the excellence Due Palme produces. And now, you have a chance to taste the red Angelo and partners value above all others: Selvarossa dei Confratelli Riserva.

A Negroamaro-dominant blend with Malvasia Nera, a portion of its grapes are air-dried to lend greater depth and concentrate flavor. After fermentation, the wine is aged nine months in barrel, bottled and then aged an additional 15 months in the cellar, resulting in layers of toasty oak and spice that balance heady tones of ripe black cherry and plum.

Making the wine is a time-consuming endeavor, but it’s one the growers choose to take on for one another. The wine has always been kept local, shared only among the many families who work with Due Palme.

When Angelo offered us a small share—a thank you for our customers, folks he considers to be Due Palme’s “extended family”—we were extremely honored. We knew immediately the wine would be perfect for our Vineyard Partners.

A continued legacy

Now more than 80 years old, Angelo has begun taking steps away from Due Palme.

He recently handed the reins off to daughter Melissa, while his grandson, Francesco Fortunato, has taken over winemaking. You wouldn’t know it, however, by the way he drops in nearly every day to inspect the old bush vines, or from his weekly meetings with the growers to discuss big vineyard decisions from April through harvest.

That means, as a Vineyard Partner, you’re not only supporting the many hardworking growers of Puglia and building Angelo’s initial efforts, you’re also helping to propel their family legacy into the future.

The program’s unique set up gives them the freedom to forget about the financials and focus on making the best wine possible—for you, and for each other.