Our
Producers
Our portfolio is comprised of a carefully selected group of partners that produce beautiful wines or spirits and have a demonstrated respect for the environment. Each producer uses their unique place, skilled maker and dedicated experience to craft wines and spirits that embody the natural landscape from where they’re from. In fact, many of the wines and spirits you’ll find here have received acclaim for their uniqueness and quality.
Charming, passionate and driven … and each distinctly unique, every producer shares the same pride in their work and devotion to their craft. They live to create beautiful products that represent distinct terroirs, grape varietals or in the case of spirits other raw materials and their relationship with them; and they do it without compromise and they do it just as much for us as they do for their place and themselves.
Barone Di Villagrande
Sicily, Italy
The story of this family is the story of Villagrande. The ancestors of the Nicolosi Asmundo Family lived and worked on these lands from the start of the 17th century, being tasked by the Bishop of Catania to turn the harsh fields of Etna from a “horrific and untamed place to a delicious garden”.
The family arrived here on a wooden cart, they took a look around them and rolled up their sleeves starting to work this harsh volcanic land.
Then in 1727 something happened, like in the fairytales. The Emperor Charles VI of Augsburg, King of Naples, bestowed Don Carmelo Nicolosi with the title of the Baron of Villagrande.
The family roots grew stronger and deeper year after year. The bond with the vines and grapes became indissoluble, giving birth to the oldest vine cultivation story on these lands and one that continues today.
Benazzoli
Veneto, Italy
Located in the rolling hills along the south eastern shore of Lake Garda, Benazzoli is the story of four generations of dedication and passion. Specializing in the production of Bardolino and Chiaretto, the family’s wine growing has organically evolved since the winery was first opened by Fulvio Benazzoli and his father Vittorio in 1975 and since the Benazzoli sisters took over the helm in 2006, the portfolio of wines beautifully expanded.
Their wines are true expressions of their terroir and the focused dedication of their maker, Claudia Benazzoli. The Benazzoli sisters are the first of four generations to bottle their wines under their own name and they manage firsthand everything from the soil to the cellar. Benazzoli wines regularly earn excellent results in both national and international competitions.
The secret of their wines is what is behind the label, the work that comes first and that has to do with knowing, curiosity, discovery and love. Their grandfather and father taught them that being wine growers means this, and above all, means being respectful. They talk about their wines with a new language, a language that does not mention wine “for women”, but wine “made by women”.
Bocale
Umbria, Italy
The Valentini family has been connected to the City of Montefalco for over one hundred years. And by the by, Valentino Valentini was the youngest Mayor ever of Montefalco. The family’s philosophy is influenced by the history of the work in the fields, and a reverence for the rare and graceful beauty of it’s rolling landscape. Each of the Bocale wines are made organically in the artisinal fashion and perfectly in tune to the Montefalco terroir.
The Bocale vineyard has only six hectares of vines producing around 30,000 bottles of wine annually but here, in the green heart of Italy – as Umbria is known – is a business that is quintessentially Italian. Valentino, a most engaging host, together with his brother and parents run the business between them and it is the epitome of everything that makes Italian produce so special.
Bodega Tres Pilares
Rueda, Spain
Juan Antonio, Eustaquio and Jaime are our Three Pillars. Three brothers continuing a saga of viticulturists with more than 50 years of history in this place..
Bodega Tres Pilares was established by three brothers in 2013; Juan Antonio, Eustaquio and Jamie represent the three pillars of Tres Pilares and hail from a family with a vine-growing background that spans over fifty years. The vineyards are located right in the heart of the Rueda Designation of Origin area, but specifically on the edge of La Seca, which offers a land of contrasts, a diversity of soil types and the ideal climate for cultivating the verdejo variety. For generations they have been dedicated to the care of the vineyard and they say, that all of those years of dedication and labour have taught them the secrets of this unique land and its vines. You should taste it in their wines.
Cantine Federiciane
Napoli, Italy
Cantine Federiciane began with an elderly farmer Paolo Palumbo in the 50s in vineyards in the centre of the Phlegraean Fields, the place from which the Palumbo family originates. It’s his son Antonio who realizes the dream and then some. Antonio being dissatisfied with just producing the Falanghina and the Piedirosso wines decides that Cantine Federiciane will also dedicate itself to the recovering of the famous ancient wine of Gragnano, mentioned in Toto’s film “ Miseria e Nobilità”.
Cantine Federiciane is a family run winery in its fourth generation. The family are from this regions for many generations back. Today, Paolo and Pina and their three sons Marco, Antonio and Luca manage the winery, each in their respective area of expertise, dedicating time, energy and love; Marco, managing the cellar, Antonio, the marketing and Luca, the winemaking. That said, they insist that we know they are not alone, a group of young, highly trained collaborators work with them and share their dedication to the Federiciane project, and together they have created a close-knit and savvy team, that rises to meet the challenges of the markets they do business in.
The Palumbo family say their story can be summed up in three short sentences: Tradition and love for the land – Innovation and love for the work – Passion and consistency in what we do.
Cascina Gilli
Piedmont, Italy
Cascina Gilli began its story in 1983, when Gianni Vergnano had the intuition and vision to invest in the territory, believing in the potential of the land around Castelnuovo Don Bosco.
He believed not only in the unique context of the land of the Monferrato, but in the entire panorama of winemaking in the Piedmont region.
From the very first bottles to be released, in 1985, Cascina Gilli received favourable mention in the first edition of the Gambero Rosso ‘‘Vini d’Italia“ wine guide.
The Cascina Gilli family never stopped believing in the potential of their terroir’s indigenous grapes and the results are remarkable. Remarkable in part due to the considerable care of and attention to the natural environment of the terroir and it’s rhythyms.. One of their most recent indigenous creations, Cascina Gilli’s Spumante Rosato Extra Dry was selected as the aperitif for the 2022 Annual Italian Sommelier Association Gala!
Cincinnato
Lazio, Italy
The Cincinnato winery situated on the slopes of the town of Cori (southeast of Rome), today, with 79 years of history, 105 grower families and the entire rural community of Cori, is a benchmark cooperative for the region and the only one to have developed an innovative project focusing on the local grape varieties such as Bellone and Nero Buono.
Cincinnato is deeply conscious of the importance of typicity and biodiversity, and for this reason has always been committed to regenerating and showcasing native grape varieties. The winery is renowned for its environmental efforts including organic methods in the vineyards and a photovoltaic system that independently generates the power to operate the winery. There are a few innovative projects Cincinnato is involved in.. They are inspiring to work with and to follow!
Jindea
France / UK
Jindea Single Estate Tea Gin is a collaboration between three industry professionals whose collective CV encompasses all facets of the drinks business from bartender and bar operator to spirits merchant and brand ambassador.
Two of the collective, Matthew Dakers and Adrian Gomes, have strong ties to India, Matthew's great-grandfather serving as a Captain in the Indian Army, and Adrian's father growing up in Goa, where the family worked the Indian railways, including the famous narrow-gauge 'toy trains' that continue to serve the hill stations. Jack Rackham, who completes the collective, is the Commercial Director of Emporia Brands, a renowned UK based Drinks Importer and Spirit Agency that has been in the family for three generations and does business all over the world.
JINDEA is made from Single Estate First Flush Darjeeling Tea, the springtime harvest which produces a delicate and floral Himalayan black tea, known to tea-lovers as the ‘Champagne of Tea’.
A citrus-forward gin with aromatic spices, peaches and apricots. The single pot still distillation creates a bolder style of gin that works fantastically in highball drinks such as G&T’s or Collins, and even more so in a Classic Martini with a twist of lemon or grapefruit or straight up with olives.
La Azul
Mendoza, Argentina
Bodega La Azul is a little winery that merges into the sky in the area known as Agua Amarga of Tupungato at the foot of the dramatic backdrop of the Andes Mountains.
The wines of La Azul are beautifully honestly made wines, in other words, true representations of the grape varieties and their terroir.
For generations, since their grandfather Francisco Hinojosa arrived to Tupungato, to this land, more than 60 years ago, the family has cultivated the vines with a view to producing high quality wines. Starting with a land that was roughly habitable, it was generations later that the family dream of La Azul Winery was attained…
In 2003 La Azul bottled their first wine, from the land that was once just sand and rocks – but is now lush with vines and inhabitants.
The La Azul family insists that without this cornerstone of excellent terroir, the passion, dedication and technology to make this dream a reality would have been in vain. As small batch producers, they are in control of the entire process from cultivating the vines to the bottling of the wine.
Flavia Manterola, the winemaker of the house, meticulously selects the grapes for and makes all of the Azul red wines; Fabricio Orlando, oenology consultant works with the Azul team in the making of the whites.
Marangona
Lugana, Italy
Marangona, a seventeenth-century farmhouse located South East of Lake Garda in Lugana between Peschiera and Sirmione, an area where the microclimate and the lake area are rich in clay and limestone give rise to wines of great quality.
Owner and Winemaker of Marangona, Alessandro Cutolo, presents very much like his wines; elegant, artistic with an old world soul.
Alessandro takes great care in the vineyards and winemaking employing organic and biodynamic techniques. Marangona produces four premium white wines made exclusively from the rare Turbiana grape which was for a long time mistakenly thought to be a Trebbiano variety. The Slow Wine Guide refers to him as the essential point of reference for the Turbiana grape variety. The Seattle wine scene refers to him as the winemaker Lugana needed. His wines score 90+ points in the Wine Enthusiast and The Decanter Magazine, in 2019 his Lugana wine (pictured below) placed no.23 in the 2019 Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Wines.
Oltretorrente
Piedmont, Italy
Oltretorrente cellar and vineyards are located in Paderna in the evocative hilly area of Tortona. The winery estate extends for about seven hectares of vineyards facing North and South and predominantly planted with Barbera and Timorasso.
The name Oltretorrente means beyond the stream or other current.. Oltretorrente is also a small artisanal organic winery founded by a young wine-obsessed couple from Milan and their two kids set atop the smooth rolling hills of Tortona, Piedmont. The results are four beautiful artisanal wines that regularly receive recognition from publications such as The Slow Wine Guide and can be found in fine wine institutions such as Chambers Street Wines in NYC!
The Oltretorrente Estate covers now seven hectares where we have been protecting and maintaining very old vines planted even a century ago (vineyards are 15 to 100 years old), in order to make wines that can embody all the history and biodiversity they come with. The vineyards face both North and South and have an altitude of about 300 meters; their slope is such that we can only use a caterpillar tractor and when it rains too much we have to reach the plants on foot.
Their big aim is a balance between saving and preserving the legacy old farmers left us and making high quality wines from these old vineyards with an organic approach employing some biodynamic techniques, which is the best way to authentically express the history, the soil, the identity of this area. They are also one of few producers to cultivate the almost extinct and now coveted Timorasso grape variety.
Peacock Sky
Waiheke Island, NZ
Peacock Sky is a husband-wife team who have worked tirelessly to bring all the necessary elements together to offer a pleasurable and edifying vineyard experience.
Peacock Sky Vineyard was born in 2008 when Connie Festa and Rob Meredith purchased a small established vineyard in the centre of Waiheke Island. The couple, originally from Canada and the UK, respectively, worked tirelessly to turn the operation into a customer driven vineyard and built a product line of bubbles, white wines, rosé and red wines to showcase their passion.
Connie’s love for beautiful cuisine naturally fit into the business plans and in 2013, they built the restaurant, Le Côté de la Colline, and began serving lunch. Each year, Connie designs beautiful, Mediterranean inspired menus constructed to pair perfectly with each season’s PSV wines. Rob’s background in science, technology and operations has been put to good use in managing the technical aspects of the business, including overseeing the production planning and logistical sides of the operation.
They share their verdant home with a flock of wild peacocks from which the vineyard takes its name. Their enterprise is clearly where they should be in the world and in life as their wines sell out and are award winning. The wines.qualify as treasure for some. The logo of Peacock Sky is a butterfly.. not a peacock. Why? It is because butterflies symbolize migration and transformation which is exactly what the owners have achieved: a move across the globe and a transformation of their lives in tandem with a vineyard. At present, Peacock Sky is making two of their award winning wines available in Canada...buy and stay tuned for the others.
Peri Bigogno
Lombardia, Italy
Peri Bigogno is a family run winery located in the Castenedolo Hills near the City of Brescia and near the west side of Lake Garda.
The recently expanded wine cellar is located in a seventeenth century palace that has been in the Peri family since 1946.
The Peri Bigogno viticulture philosophy is one that is dervied from a respect for the terroir, environment and viticultural identity. Their Gobbo 2008, a blend of cabernet, merlot and marzemino was selected by Guida Critica Galosa as one of Italy's top 100 wines in 2012. Their Talento wines (traditional method sparkling wines) are also masterfully made and receive much attention.
It was in 1980 when the charming project of producing a sparkling wine with refermentation in the bottle,
according to what could then still be called "Method Champenoise", involved and excited Peri’s family. Thus, for over thirty years, the picking of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes for the creation of the base wine for Vintage sparkling wines opens the intense and exciting period of harvest.
Talento identifies the excellence of Italian sparkling.
The word "Talento" since 2004 is in fact exclusively reserved to Italian sparkling wines obtained by the Classic Method of bottle refermentation and this happens only with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc grapes, which are considered the most valuable grapes to produce quality sparkling wines.
Podere Marella
Umbria, Italy
Fiammetta Inga, mother of the current owner, moved to Podere Marella in 1974. She was one of the first adopters of the agriturismo (farm guesthouse) concept, opening her home to guests in the early 1980’s.
Founded by a woman, Fiammetta Inga in 1974, a pioneer in Italian organic wine making, Podere Marella is located on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, in the Lake Trasimeno area where the next generation continues Fiammetta’s legacy ..and created one of their own working alongside long time friend and colleague famed French winemaker Jean Natoli.
Rezzadore
Veneto, Italy
Unique wines with specific regional peculiarity in taste born from the deep tie with our land, the highest care for vineyards and the professional making.
On the green slopes of the Berici Hills, overlooking the picturesque Po valley, stands an 18th century villa named after the Rezzadore family, who have been making wine here for many generations. Tai Rosso is undoubtedly the most important and well-known grape variety of the Colli Berici. Also known as “Barbarano,” this grape is related to Cannonau of Sardegna, and hence to Grenache. The first documents mentioning the variety are from the 16th century. Their winemaker Giuseppe Rezzadore takes a patient and painstaking care of the vineyards and the making of the wines employing minimal intervention and organic techniques. As you may surmise from the photo the Rezzadore vineyards and orchards are burgeoning with wildlife, hence the colourful illustration of a pheasant that makes the Tai Rosso label.
Sebastiana
Sao Paulo, Brazil
With 60 years of family tradition and numerous international awards, Sebastiana Cachaças is recognized for and by their remarkable quality and refined character as well as their beautiful packaging.
In aged barrels of Carvalho and Castanheira, where Sebastiana cachaças accumulated 13 international awards before arriving at the main gourmet shops, bars and restaurants in the Capital and Interior Paulista.
With 60 years of family tradition and 21 international and national awards, Alambique Santa Rufina officially enters the market.Super Premium cachaça with the brand Sebastiana. After almost 4 years of processing incompetent bodies for the adequacy of standards and procedures related to the production of spirits in Brazil, the still was approved for the commercialization of Sebastiana Castanheira, Sebastiana Carvalho Blend, Sebastiana CarvaloSingle Barrel, Sebastiana Cristal and Duas Barricas.
Tenuta San Francesco
Campania, Italy
Tenuta San Francesco in Tramonti sits just inland from the beautiful Amalfi Coast. Boasting pre-phyloxera Tintore vines well over 200 yrs old and a Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri Award for the result, their È ISS. Each of their wines is as captivating as the dramatically beautiful landscape they come from. Authentic limited production gems.