Behind The Vines: Calcarius
From the US to Australia you will find the eye catching periodic style bottles of Calcarius sprawling the shelves of the finest restaurants and local wine bars, but, who exactly are Calcarius?
Calcarius is an avant-garde natural wine project with a cult worldwide following from producer, Valentina Passalacqua. The Calcarius collection of wines are focused on the Kimmeridgian limestone soils of Valentina's childhood town, Arpicena, which sits at the feet of the Gargano mountains in Puglia. Valentina wasn't always a winemaker having worked in a high flying corporate job in London for sometime until the birth of her daughter, Giulia. Once settled into more of a family life setting she felt a desire to return to her homeland and engage more with nature and the winemaking scene which is so prominent in Puglia.
Her vineyard area is full of calcareous limestone within the soil and white rocks jutting out everywhere amongst the vines, a setting which many producers might shy away from. Combined with the salty air from the Adriatic Sea, and Valentina’s careful picking (much earlier than all of her neighbors of course) the wines of the Calcarius project all follow a similar style, light, bright and full of flavour. Although the wines do receive a small dose of sulfur for stability during travel, they taste like unsulfured natural wines to us, vibrant, and easy to drink. A true reflection of the elegant terroir of the region.
If your keen to sample what all the hype is about check out the latest vintages here, all in stock and available for next day delivery, 7 days a week.
