Our story

TRADITION & LAND

It all starts in Allerona Scalo, a small village in Umbria in the valley of the Paglia river. Here, among rescued vineyards and centuries-old olive trees, I tend the land with full respect.

Black-and-white photo: a man walks between the rows of vines carrying a bucket

THE STORY

From the family vineyard to Cantina Pulaio

I come from a family that worked these fields as farmers for generations. I grew up alongside my grandfather and my uncle, who made wine at home. In 2014, while I was working as a farmhand, I was given the job of carrying on the small family vineyard, just 2,500 square metres.

I started rescuing old vineyards that had been abandoned or whose elderly owners could no longer look after them. I made my first wine on my own, with grapes alone, in the old concrete vats and glass demijohns. When friends started tasting it I realised I wanted to do something more, and in 2019 I made Cantina Pulaio official.

A woman in a headscarf picks grapes between the rows

Two elderly people work the grapes in a courtyard, black-and-white archive photo

Harvesting by hand among the vines, black-and-white archive photo

Grape pickers along the dirt road next to the vineyard

A man walks between the rows of the vineyard with the hills in the background

A grape picker smiles among the vine leaves

An elderly man carries a bucket of grapes in the garden

A man drives an old red tractor through the vineyards

A woman in a hat carries a basket of grapes on her shoulder

An elderly man in the kitchen, with chilli peppers hanging on the wall

An elderly man racking wine with a long hose in the courtyard

A man checks the bunches among the vine leaves

The old family cellar, with bottles and tools on the shelves

A smiling man in the cellar in front of shelves of bottles and demijohns

An elderly man in a hat works between the rows of the vineyard

Sustainable farming

The most natural approach possible

I don't use heavy machinery in the vineyard: everything is done by hand. I let wild grasses grow and cut them whole, so they cover the soil, hold in moisture, shelter all kinds of insects and help the land cope with drought. Plants, fruit trees and animals live together around the vines: all-round biodiversity. In the cellar I only bring healthy grapes, with no chemical additives. Just grapes.

Animals in the vineyard

Geese, ducks and hens roam freely in some small plots, naturally enriching the soil.

Olive trees

I've been making extra virgin olive oil since 2021 on about 2.5 hectares, home to 250 old trees, many of them centuries old. Always with the most natural approach possible: the olive trees here are never treated.

Wild grasses

I let them grow and cut them whole: they cover the soil, hold in moisture and shelter animals and insects, helping against drought.

Fruit trees

Vines climbing up trees and plants left to grow between the rows: living biodiversity that works together with the vineyard.

Handwork

Pruning, tying with willow branches and spraying with a backpack sprayer: all by hand, with minimal impact.

Ancient wheat

I've brought back the old wheat varieties of my area, forgotten by industrial farming. Here too, no fertilisers or chemicals.

“No heavy machinery goes into the vineyard: everything is done by hand, with grapes alone.”

My story starts with my grandfather's little patch of land and the lessons handed down to me. From the first small vineyard in 2014 to the birth of Cantina Pulaio in 2019.