Since its establishment in 2001, Tenuta Coppadoro has fast become the new benchmark for quality winemaking in the southern Italian province of Puglia. This rapid ascent to the top has its roots in the conviction of its founders, led by businessman Ottavio Pisante, that their corner of southern Italy, Puglia’s picturesque Gargano peninsula, is blessed with a combination of natural assets ideally suited to making world-class wines. The accolades and acclaim showered on Coppadoro, notably the Tre Bicchieri-winning Radicosa ‘03 and Cotinone ‘05, within a few short years is a resounding endorsement of its founding partners’ dedication and foresight.

The Vineyards
Coppadoro's vineyards are located on the Gargano peninsula, a promontory of land projecting out from the Italian coastline into the Adriatic Sea; it forms the “spur” above the heel formed by Puglia's Salentino peninsula. Home to Italy’s largest national park, the area is characterized by thickly forested ravines and sunlit valleys, likened to bowls, or coppe in Italian; hence the winery name, meaning "Bowl of Gold."

Nearly 400 acres of vineyards, interspersed with olive groves, are the source of Coppadoro’s six estate-grown wines. Here, hot, dry summers, offset by cool night breezes, occasionally give way to welcome and beneficial rain showers.

Coppadoro favors native grapes such as Montepulciano, Aglianico, Nero di Troia, and Primitivo, plus a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, for its three red wines and single rosé. The indigenous Bombino is the chief component of a white wine, Ratino, rounded out with smaller quantities of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Moscato.

The Winery
Nothing has been left to chance in the quest to establish Coppadoro as a beacon of world-class winemaking. Early success came with the strategic recruitment of the internationally renowned consulting winemaker, Riccardo Cotarella, to lend his support and expertise to the new venture.

Substantial investments have paved the way for construction of a showcase winery. Coppadoro’s rotunda-shaped facility, built around a circular courtyard, is a progressive nod to the design influences of ancient Rome, while blending form with function and housing up-to-the-minute technology. Seen from above, the building’s unusual design becomes yet more apparent. Resembling a stylized version of the thistle or cardum plant, whose purple flowers are a prominent feature of the surrounding landscape, the winery’s distinctive shape has also been adopted for the Coppadoro logo.

The Road Ahead
From the beginning Coppadoro’s founding partnership has sought to breathe new life into the local economy. As a result the Coppadoro initiative will soon embrace the conversion of the former Pescorosso farmstead into a luxury hotel. Other projects on the drawing board include links with local tourism programs, agricultural ventures and the support of ancient handicrafts.

Tenuta Coppadoro offers a tantalizing taste of the spirit of enterprise that has taken root in southern Italy. Thanks to developments underway at progressive wineries such as Coppodoro, Italy’s Mezzogiorno is starting to emerge from the shadows for its rightful place in the sun.