Bastia Umbra, Umbria

It was late winter of 2015 and we had plans to meet one of our close friends; the spirit guide and natural wine guru, Danilo Marcucci, on the outskirts of Bastia Umbra, an indistinct little village in the valley floor of the upper Tiber river delta just outside of Assisi. Danilo was excited to introduce us to his longtime childhood friend Ricardo Pennaforte, who was refurbishing his grandparents' old farmhouse. 

Danilo had been exuberantly telling us about this serendipitous discovery that he and Ricardo had made when they first visited this ancestral family property: a tiny hidden garden of rare, untouched, native Umbrian old vines, planted on piedi franco (ungrafted) rootstock in the backyard of Ricardo's grandparents’ derelict stone farmhouse.  

This place was remarkable - barely 4 field stone walls cobbled together over a century ago by Ricardo's humble ancestors. There was a tiny backhoe in the front with a deep hole right in front of the "winery". We walked across some rotten 2x4's and stepped into the dank little "cantina".  It was here that Ceppaiolo was born.  

A "Ceppaiolo" was one of the most humble vocations back in the day of subsistence farming. The Ceppaiolo would essentially glean leftover tree stumps and other various scraps of wood from the fields of Umbria and use them to heat their homes, cook or make simple objects to sell.  

Out back were four short rows of wildly overgrown, ancient vines. Less than a hectare in size, the vines held generations of antique Umbrian grape varieties in their rootstock. To Danilo it was a cornucopia of possibilities when it came to unlocking the natural wine mysteries of his beloved homeland. To Ricardo, it looked like a LOT of manual labor...

They were both right. Danilo and Ricardo got to work both envisioning the wines they'd make, tidying up the simple cantina (which didn't even have electricity for the first 2 vintages!). We were lucky to be part of the origin story and heralded their first vintage (2014) of field blend wines back here in the US.  

Fast forward 10 years - The Ceppaiolo cantina remains a humble refuge for both Danilo and Ricardo to tinker. The space has a fresh coat of stucco. The hole is filled in the front door. There's even a bathroom...and yes, electricity.  

Yet, the soul of Ceppaiolo remains intact, perhaps even more so than ever. Old farm equipment mixed with a simple table for lunch and a mini fridge to store prosciutto and young rootstock clippings.  

After a full decade of dedicated work Ricardo wanted to create a couple of fresh new wines from the ever evolving Ceppaiolo cantina. Wines that showed his easy-going, ever-smiling demeanor (even while pruning vines in the icy cold of winter or harvesting in the blazing heat of summer).  

Vini Costa is Ricardo's Umbrian Oasis answer to the more cerbrial, arthouse wines that usually come from the Ceppaiolo winery. Easy going, "simple" yet made from the same ancestral, old vine material that makes Ceppaiolo so special.