WENO is the dream of Mino Zanzariello, an entrepreneur in the wine industry.
His ideal has always been – and still remains – the one witnessed in his words,“We must leave a trace!”
Mino, in addition to taking special care of his activities and his collaborators, has a very specific dream: to use indigenous grape varieties from the Itria Valley to produce strictly Pas Dosè classic method sparkling wine.
Indeed, the “winemaking challenge,” as he has always called it, is to produce using Verdeca, a white grape widely grown in the area.
The challenge, however, is aiming very high: the goal is to make a product that, starting from the land and what nature offers, rises to be of a higher, almost exclusive category.
To achieve this there is only one way: to do strictly the best, without compromise.
Flanked by his wife Alma, Mino began devoting time and resources to the WENO project, while continuing to pursue his other entrepreneurial activities in parallel.
Mino and Alma have no vineyards of their own, other than those that grandparents and fathers have historically used to produce wine for family consumption.
However, they share a common passion: that of the wine world.
For the first trials they are using grapes from the 2018 harvest, purchasing about 50 quintals of grapes from a young local producer.
Grapes are processed in a local winery.
Because Mino likes to do things together with others and the enhancement of his project also goes through the involvement of local producers and realities.
The dream is to transform by their own example and commitment the Itria Valley into a known and appreciated productive reality, not only locally but also internationally.
The first trials will be followed by others – in 2019 and 2020 – always purchasing grapes from local farmers.
Yes, because the first vineyard arrived in 2021, when Mino and Alma purchased a 30 plus-year-old vineyard in Contrada Mavugliola in Locorotondo.
It was the first concrete step toward the realization of the dream, which took shape a few years later with the first bottles of MAVÙ, a Verdeca-based sparkling wine named after the vineyard purchased.
The involvement of Cristiano, a friend and winemaker who fully embraces the project and shares the challenge, proves to be a winning move.
The goal becomes to have a range of products based solely and exclusively on local monovarietal grape varieties: white berry Verdeca, Maresco, Bianco di Alessando, and red berry Susumaniello and Ottavianello.
Early harvests ensure the acidity and ph of the grapes.
Harvesting is done strictly by hand in 12 kg. crates to avoid excessive crushing of the bunches.
The choices inherent to harvesting also allow local producers to be granted better supply conditions than those usually practiced, because Mino and Alma, by involving others, aim to grow the wealth of the land they love, in which they grew up and where their children are now growing up.
WENO ‘s story is certainly short, like that of a newly born vine branch.
The concreteness of the dream has just begun however, one can clearly see the road that will be traveled.
Nature in its own time will dictate the timing of production, without forcing.
The product will be ready… when it is ready.
It means that WENO bottles will be put on the market only when they have reached the desired quality level and not simply to meet a market demand.
Time takes its time.
Also for WENO.
After all, bottle aging is a minimum of 24, 30 or 36 months, where minimum means that even longer time may be needed to meet the high quality standards that Mino and Alma aim to achieve.
Not to mention the other time: after degorgement WENO leaves the wine in the cellar to rest for an additional 4-6 months before it is tasted.
All this is called respect, not only of time.
Respect for production that takes place according to the guidelines of the classic method, a natural method in which bubbles are formed in second fermentation in the bottle.
Respect for the product, which is made with the most modern equipment to achieve the highest quality standards and stored in constant and controlled temperature environments.
Respect for consumers, who will always be guaranteed to drink an excellent wine made from the heart.
The WENO project is in sharp contrast to the trend of many grape growers who are abandoning vineyards or grubbing them up.
Instead, Mino and Alma are reclaiming land and planting new vines to ensure the area’s full return to traditional production, as it has been for hundreds of years.
The Itria Valley has always been an area devoted to wine cultivation, which has been progressively reduced over the past decades. WENO intends to give new impetus to the territory and make it known in Italy and abroad as a production excellence.
Since the purchase of the first vineyard in Contrada Mavugliola in 2021, Mino and Alma’s project has been moving forward quickly with the acquisition and preparation of new vineyards to give continuity to production and grow WENO.
CURRENT PLANTINGS:
Contrada Mavugliola, 3,706 sq m, 1985 planting, Verdeca
Contrada Votano VLE, 7,536 sq m, 2002 planting, Verdeca and Bianco d’Alessano
Contrada Pedone, 4,219 sq m, 2024 planting, Susumaniello
Contrada Nardelli, 3,978 sq m, 2024 planting, Maresco
NEW PLANTS:
Contrada Polaccio, 7,200 sqm, 2025 planting, Susumaniello
Contrada Nardelli 2, 700 sqm, 2025 planting, Maresco
Contrada Martina Franca, 500 sqm, 2025 planting, Verdeca
Contrada Contini, 6,000 sqm, 2026 planting, Maresco
The future of WENO is not too far away.
It is in supporting the local community with charitable initiatives such as those in support of “Mani Unite per il Congo,” a Locorotondo-based nonprofit association, or those in support of the local Istituto Tecnico Agrario I.I.S.S. Basile Caramia – Gigante di Locorotondo.
The future is a winery of excellent products and a production reality devoted to the most modern principles of sustainability.
The future of WENO is now.
