Not too long ago a guy and his friends bought some land in their hometown of Formicola and turned it into a winery- just because. They knew this land had something to offer and it should be preserved. Therefore, their focus was to keep the land unchanged and natural. Il Verro is a relatively new winery that started in the early 2000’s. Wedged between the Monte Maggiore mountain and the Volturno Valley, this area was once a boar hunting ground, giving the winery its name “Il Verro” or wild boar.

Lately, I have been working on studying wines more in depth and just completed level two of a wine sommelier course with AIS. (Thanks to COVID I’m working backwards, later completing level one in December). After our class ended, our group met up with Cesare, the only one remaining of the founding group of Il Verro. He explained to us the history of the land, the difference in the grapes grown there, and above all, to remind us that these little cities have just as much importance as those in Tuscany or other more well-known areas of Italy. Sadly, smaller towns, such as this one, face more challenges with getting their name and quality products known.

“This place is so beautiful!”- Alessia, wine connoisseur
“Of course, because when you are here, you breath history.” -Cesare Avenia, owner

The day started off with storms and rain, but quickly turned into a day of so many colors! A double rainbow appeared about five minutes into my drive, the insane bumpy roads turned to smooth, narrow streets that wound through tunnels of green all the way to the colorful town of Formicola, to the green olive groves that lined the way to the winery entrance, and then the gorgeous autumn colors on the vines that surrounded us in the hazy mountains. And don’t forget the sunset colors up there… so much beauty!

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