Amorotti shoots for the natural wine stars, a young/old Abruzzo estate on the rise.

I cannot share any of the photos I took at the Amorotti winery in the picturesque village of Loreto Aprutino, which lies roughly 30 minutes by car inland from the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo.

That’s because legacy grape grower and winemaker Gaetano Carboni wants to isolate the unique community of bacteria and yeast that populate his ancient cellar. Visits are extremely limited (I was honored to be received) in part because he doesn’t want to upset the balance of microorganisms that have allowed him to ferment spontaneously in the space since his first commercially released vintage in 2017.

Why are photos not allowed? He let me take them but asked me not to publish them. Gaetano, I discovered, is the nicest person and extremely polite and proper. But he is afraid that too much exposure will ultimately bring too many visitors and threaten the delicate biome he has captured.

What I can show you is the above photo of the Gran Sasso massif, snapped in the village of Cappelle sul Tavo, about halfway along the windy road that leads to Loreto Aprutino from the seaside.

As you drive up to the hamlet, you realize that you are surrounded by seemingly endless olive groves. The olive oil raised there is considered by many to be among the best in the world.

But when you get there and look back on the sea, which you can see clearly from the hilltop village, you can literally taste the dolce aere, the delicate breeze that kisses the groves and the patchwork of vineyards interspersed among them. Then you look to the west to the massif and you notice how it protects the hamlet like a sleeping giant.

It’s then that you realize what a unique and special growing zone this is.

Loreto Aprutino is home to some of Abruzzo’s most famous and oldest wineries: Valentini, Ciavolich, Torre dei Beati, just to name a few.

Gaetano’s family can trace their history back to the Renaissance, just like those above. But it’s only been in recent years that he has begun making wine from vines that were once reserved solely for family consumption. His family, like the Valentini, for example, are among the region’s most important producers of olive oil.

The wines are excellent, the story compelling. I highly recommend them. And when you do visit one evening before dinner on a chilling winter night, look out for the cats that rule the streets of this magical village.