Azienda Agricola Distina

Our tiny family is expanding once again. One of the real joys of working in this community are the family visits we get to enjoy with our winemakers.

When Frank and I took off from Palermo to visit Elisabetta Montesissa for the first time, we could not have been more excited to head to this legendary part of the culinary world -- to visit a farm there -- a farm where grains and grapes grow in a biodynamic microcosmos, and produce stunning wines. Despite the anticipation, I could not have imagined the spread that met us in the small cellar beneath Betta's farm.

Between flight delays and rental car issues, we were about 8 hours late to meet her and her partner Massimiliano Croci. All the while, I was on the phone with a young winemaker they'd helped to get started in 2015. This was Claudio di Campaner of Distina, a new friend and wonderful winemaker /distiller we're introducing to you today.

We tasted Claudio's wines that evening. They were so fantastically realized, but also so remarkably familiar. We've grown to love Betta and Massimiliano's wines over the years as a style all to their own. But Claudio was clearly one of the family, focusing on sparkling wines and macerations of wonderful aromatic brilliance and transparency of fruit. Claudio started a distillery on the hills of Piacentini, between Val D'arda and Val Ongina, right on the border of Parma. He got started with the help of the legendary Vittorio Capovilla, and wanted very much to complete the natural cycle of the distillation process by returning spent fruit back to the vines to nourish the next generation.

We're so happy to have a little home growing in this wonderful part of the world, because we love the wines, and moreover the people who are so committed to this philosophy of biodiversity. It is a small utopia of love and grace and intelligence, so bringing a bit of it home with us is a great honor. Welcome, Claudio and here's to many years of fun together.