In the wake of the Second World War, young people started leaving Italy’s countryside. Cities beckoned with the promise of factories and offices – jobs that didn’t come with backbreaking manual labour. But, as many farms and vineyards were being abandoned, a small group of winemakers banded together in Tollo, a small corner of Abruzzo, to establish Cantina Tollo – looking to secure an economic future for the region and its wines. Little did they know they’d be building such a legacy.
An ambassador for Abruzzo
Since its creation in 1960, the cooperative has grown and evolved. With vineyards stretching from the coast to the mountains, Cantina Tollo focuses on Abruzzo’s indigenous grapes – Montepulciano and Trebbiano, Pecorino, Passerina and Cococciola, each one finding its perfect site in the region’s varied terrain.
Views over Cantina Tollo vineyards.
Today Cantina Tollo is one of Italy’s largest and most famous cooperatives – earning global awards, including the Berliner Wine Trophy for the Best Cooperative in Italy eight years in a row. It brings together 625 wine-growing families who collectively farm 2,500ha of vines and produce 14 million bottles of wine. Sold across Italy and around the world, from the Netherlands and Germany to Canada and China, Cantina Tollo offers the globe a taste of Abruzzo’s vinous heritage, all while supporting its members.
Facing the future and balancing tradition
The cooperative has long been a pioneer – looking to raise the benchmark for the region, focused on much more than a yearly crop. It started farming organically in the 1990s (with around 7% of its vineyards farmed organically today, and a dedicated organic wine range in production) and is now focusing on precision viticulture. For over two decades, Cantina Tollo has had a project (Vigneto Avanzato) to reward quality rather than quantity among its growers – paying a flat rate per hectare, rather than per kilo of grapes. More recently, the team has championed indigenous varieties – working alongside the Experimental Institute for Viticulture in Conegliano to revive the native grape Maiolica, planting the first vines in Tollo in 2019.
The village of Tollo.
In 2004, the Cantina Tollo Group founded Feudo Antico – an artisan winery created to preserve and protect their land and traditions. Set on the site of a Roman villa, the project isn’t just about history – but regenerating the land, experimenting to translate tradition for today’s audience. As part of the venture, the team pushed to establish the Tullum DOCG – one of Italy’s smallest appellations, representing a mere 18ha around Tollo, legally protecting the area’s vinous heritage.
Sustainability beyond the vineyard
Feudo Antico is one key strand of the Cantina Tollo Group – which combines the Auramadre and Borgovenna labels, alongside Cantina Tollo itself. With these various operations, Cantina Tollo is able to craft both smaller-scale fine wines – such as their collaboration with star local chef, Niko Romito – as well as more everyday volume drivers and value offerings, diversifying its audience.
Cantina Tollo vineyards.
Cantina Tollo champions Abruzzo’s wines and land, but it is also a savvy business – focused on ensuring that it is not just environmentally sustainable, but economically and socially sustainable. In 2024-2025, its growers earned 11% more for their fruit than in 2023-2024 – with the business’s economic success reinvested in those that are so key to its survival. Rewarding its members in turn attracts and retains the younger generation, ensuring the business’s future – a cycle that preserves their heritage.
As Gianluca Orsini, Cantina Tollo President says, ‘A cooperative is not a company like any other: it is a pact of trust, a promise, a community that lives, breathes, and grows alongside the place where it operates.’ In today’s world, that approach is far from the norm. Not all cooperatives live up to that standard – but, with its long-term vision, Cantina Tollo certainly does.
Six wines to try from Cantina Tollo
Cantina Tollo, Pecorino Terre d’Abruzzo IGT 2025
Ripe white-fleshed peach, apricot, zesty citrus and honeyed apples: beautiful concentrated sweet ripe fruit, lifted by well-balanced acidity and a gentle floral lift. Nice textural grip on the palate and a full, rounded mouthfeel and a gentle bitter almond finish. A classic, fresh example of the Pecorino variety. Alc 13.5%
Feudo Antico, Tullum Pecorino, Tullum DOCG 2024
Forming part of the Cantina Tollo cooperative’s Feudo Antico range, this 100% Pecorino offers soft, sweet white-fleshed fruit character – think ripe pineapple, peaches, apricots, sweet golden apple with white floral and sage notes balanced by fresh acidity. Moreish viscosity on the voluminous palate, nice gentle textural character from a short period of lees contact. Try paired with baked fish or Thai dishes. Alc 13.5%
Feudo Antico, In Anfora, Tullum Pecorino DOCG 2022
Seeking UK distributor.
Burnished gold in the glass, this 100% minimum intervention organic-certified Pecorino is vinified in amphorae – inspired by the discovery of ancient Roman amphorae in the vineyards. A beautiful example of the versatility of this classic Abruzzo variety. A welcome textural grip on the palate from time spent on the grape skins lends structure and interest on the palate, balanced by good acidity. Notes of bitter marmalade, orange peel, dried basil, thyme, salty chamomile, potpourri and golden apples with a wonderfully moreish savoury finish. Alc 13.5%
Feudo Antico, In Anfora, Tullum Rosso DOCG 2022
Seeking UK distributor.
100% old vine Montepulciano vinified in terracotta amphorae with a minimum of 11 months on the skins, unfined and unfiltered. Intensely perfumed, succulent sweet red fruit mingles with blackberry, blueberry, sweet black plum and blackcurrant fruits. A perfumed minty lift lends balance to the warming alcohol, while well-structured tannins provide beautiful structure. Alc 14.5%
Cantina Tollo, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva DOP 2020
Vibrant red fruit on the nose which carries through on the palate with a ferrous twist. Juicy and succulent, notes of ripe cranberries and crushed strawberries, red currants and juicy red and black plums. Well balanced acidity gives the wine lift and brightness and neatly offsets the well-integrated alcohol. Smooth and rounded on the palate with evident oak spice lending interest. Beautifully vibrant in the glass despite age. Alc 14%
Feudo Antico, Tullum Rosso Riserva, Tullum DOCG 2019
Seeking UK distributor.
Inky dark fruit: blackberry and dark cherry, notes of chocolate, sweet baked plums and oak spice lead through toa gently bitter black tea finish. Beautiful concentration of fruit framed by bright freshness and a moreish savoury finish with umami and slightly raisined complexity, indicative of some development in bottle. Alc 14.5%
All wines were tasted non-blind and were provided free of charge to feature in paid-for content.
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