Progetto Calcarius

Innovative winegrower Valentina Passalacqua is a visionary vigneron who has overcome many challenges in the patriarchal winegrowing world, especially that of southern Italy and Puglia in particular. After spending a decade working in business and law in London, Passalacqua returned home in 2008 in search of a simpler life. She had just welcomed the arrival of her daughter Giulia and wanted to be a role model for her daughter, demonstrating that, even in the male-dominated culture of southern Italy, a woman could independently build a business with an ethical mission, ranging from working in the vineyard to enriching the lives of every person involved in the wine-making process. Natural wine was a logical choice because it is rooted in a philosophy of life that is based on respect for the earth, for the laws of nature and for every human being.

Passalacqua set up a farm with EU subsidies for women entrepreneurs in the South of Italy, recognized as a depressed area. She helped to create new job opportunities and integration in the area, thus laying the foundations to build her dream. She and her team cultivate nearly 200 acres using biodynamic principles. She has converted pasture land into organically planted and farmed vineyards.

Ten years after tending to the vineyard and producing wine under her eponymous label, Valentina launched ‘Progetto Calcarius’. This label is the result of continuous research and listening to the specific limestone-driven terroir leading Valentina to select these specific 62 acres that are the foundation of Calcarius. The wines are elegant and display reserved confidence, just like the creative force behind them.