HISTORY
Supersanum Cellar was founded by the Nutricato brothers and it blossomed from their passion for agriculture and enology. Wine-making is indeed a deeply rooted tradition in the Nutricato family, which started four generations ago, in the early 19th century, with the great-grandfather Paolo: the forefather of a traditionally patriarchal family.
He dedicated his entire life to the cultivation of vineyards, passing down the same passion for wine and viticulture to his many heirs. One of his sons, grandfather Michele, specialised in agricultural studies and, in the mid-1900, was hired by the Ferrazzi farm: a big agricultural company located in Supersano. Also Maurilio Corrado, the maternal grandfather, was hired in the same company. He used to saddle up his motorcycle and ride throughout Salento, to trade best quality grapes on behalf of the Ferrazzi farm.
It was a golden age for wine making in Supersano: the entire area was covered in vineyards and every family was able to earn enough to live from agriculture. At that time, the vineyards from Salento produced a significant quantity of “blending wine” which was sold to northern Italian and French companies, to refine their own renowned wines.
Unfortunately, the agricultural activity in Salento was very soon abandoned, to pursue better living conditions in more attractive working sector and, as a consequence, the agricultural traditions were quickly consigned to oblivion. As a result, the countryside of Supersano was utterly modified, because bigger land owners were subsidized to eradicate vineyards and plant olive trees.
But in the Nutricato family, the seeds planted by grandfather Michele, soon started to grow in the heart of his several children, until one of them – uncle Paolo – decided to become a full-time farmer, while his brothers kept cultivating this passion as a second employment, handing down to their own children the agricultural traditions and expertise, in order to be maintained and survive along the years.
At the present days, the new Nutricato heirs – Gabriele, Paolo and Sara – decided to take over from the past generation, specializing in agricultural studies. Specifically, Sara graduated in Agronomy at the University of Bologna, Paolo got his diploma in agricultural techniques at “G. Presta” high-school in Lecce and became a Sommelier, while Gabriele obtained a diploma in agricultural techniques at Columella Institute in Maglie and decided to enrol to Viticulture and Enology faculty at the University of Cesena. But after a few years spent far away, the will to come back to the homeland and the passion for agricultural activities becomes too strong, and Gabriele decided to quit his studies and moved back home, where, together with an old friend of his – Raffaele – he started to take care of the old abandoned vineyards.
It started as a hobby, but very soon this activity turned into a full-time job, and a couple of years later, Gabriele and his brothers started to run their 3-hectare vineyard fields. In 2014 they finally decided to make their dream come true, and founded the “Supersanum” Cellar. Today, “Cantina Supersanum” is a family run business, and the Nutricato brothers personally and directly take care of the entire productive process: starting from the cultivation of the vines to the productive process and the sales, paying particular attention to the organoleptic features of their products and pursuing the highest quality standards.
Wine production in “Cantina Supersanum” is based on the environment respect and on the philosophy of organic agriculture. The young entrepreneurs have been able to wisely merge the oldest traditions of wine making with the newest technologies and techniques, allowing to cut-down to zero the use of chemicals, by respecting the micro-biological balance of the soil and by preserving the integrity of the territory. During the vinification phase, the need for useless and expensive chemical additives is extremely reduced, so that consumers will benefit from the production of a fine healthy wine.