Petracavallo Verdeca 2021

Mottola, Apulia

Petra Cavallo is the name of this legendary farmhouse whose history is incredible and spans some 800 years. It seems that one of the first travellers to find rest here was St Francis of Assisi, in the summer of 1022, on his return from Egypt, who is said to have left an imprint of his face on the stone he used for sleeping.

In 1809, coinciding with the suppression of religious orders ordered by Murat, the estate passed from the hands of the Conventual Fathers to those of Baron Ferdinando Notaristefano. The Baron was so devout that he changed the name of the estate to San Francesco.

In 1861, the estate already belonged to a D'Onghia, to be exact Giuseppe, municipal tax collector of Mottola, but not far away was the hideout of brigands led by Coppolone. Legend has it that one day, after sheltering a farm labourer humiliated in public by Giuseppe, he decided to break into the tax collector's house. Patron Giuseppe was kidnapped and hung from an ant-infested tree until the ransom was delivered. Since that day, the courtyard of the masseria has been closed.

In 1922 Petra Cavallo (San Francesco) was sold to the Leogrande brothers, who divided the estate. The northern part to Gennaro, the southern part to Giuseppe. In the meantime, the farm's agricultural (and cattle breeding) activities became more and more important, increasing production considerably.

During this period, a strange event occurred: turkeys were born crippled and died like flies. This was attributed to the fact that the farm's church, by then deconsecrated and abandoned, was used for turkey broods. From that day on, the church was reconsecrated and the phenomenon disappeared.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Masseria San Francesco was renovated and enlarged; the Leogrande brothers, now old, granted the management of the entire local economy to their sons in 1958, so as not to officially split it up.

Three related families now live here: that of Diego Ludovico, that of Maddalena D'Onghia and that of Giuseppe D'Onghia, father of Vito, the deus ex machina of Petracavallo's natural wine production.

Here, they produce according to tradition, without pesticides, additives, selected yeasts, controlled temperatures or exaggerated additions of sulphur dioxide.

Petracavallo wines are lively, territorial and exciting.