Barone Cornacchia was first established in Montepulciano at the end of the 19th Century. They are considered a pioneer in the aging and bottling of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
After the devastating infestation of phylloxera that spread all over Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, Barone Filippo Vizzarro Cornacchia (1872-1944) selected the ancient clones to replant and graft all vineyards using American rootstocks. At the beginning of the 20th century, he started to produce ‘Montepulciano d’Abruzzo’ wine and entered it in national competitions, receiving the first official awards for the area.
The next generation of the family was Alessandro Cornacchia (1940-1992), ‘Cavaliere della Repubblica’ (Knight of the Italian Republic) and surgeon, who produced and bottled Montepulciano d’Abruzzo under the Barone Cornacchia label.
In the 1980’s, Alessandro’s son and current owner, Mr. Piero Cornacchia, began exporting their Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to Europe, the United States and Japan. He modernized the company and adopted the best technology in the oenological sector, creating two guidelines that are still the basis of the company philosophy: enhance the typicity of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and work the soil naturally, both agronomically and oenologically. Today the company is led by Piero’s son Filippo and daughter Caterina Cornacchia, who have achieved the organic certification of the company and the products.
Located in the province of Teramo, the estate dominates the fertile valley of the Vibrata, lying at 240 meters above sea level. Cornacchia has 74 acres in the Teramo province in the Northeastern corner of Abruzzo which is protected by the Grand Sasso range (9,560 feet) to the north and west and the Maiella range to the South. From the east the vineyards are exposed to the moderating sea breezes
from the Adriatic. It is considered to be one of the finest regions in Abruzzo. The terrain is calcareous clay, rich in lime and iron and the vineyards tend to produce wines that are bigger in everything - tannins, alcohol, body and color.
