The farming co-operative La Guardiense, one of the biggest in Italy, was founded in 1960 by 33 farsighted and courageous farmers. Today it counts around 1000 members. They cultivate their own respective grapes on approximately 1500 hectares of vineyards situated mainly on hilly soils, at an average height of 350 meters above sea level.
The is situated in the Santa Lucia area of Guardia Sanframondi, in the very heart of the southern Italian province of Benevento, in Campania. Led by only three presidents over the last 50 years, the coop has been very successful in combining tradition and modernity. It adapted to the many market changes that have occurred since its inception, thus becoming a symbol of technological progress for the entire province of Benevento. Oenologist Riccardo Cotarella is in charge of the winemaking.
La Guardiense participates in a one of its kind project called "I Mille per l’Aglianico” (a thousand for the Aglianico), with reference to the thousand members of La Guardiense. Their aim is to improve the production processes both in the vineyard and in the through passion and commitment.
Thanks to this project, La Guardiense was given the prestigious "Oscar for the Best Innovation in Wine” in 2013, by the Italian Sommelier Board. La Guardiense is also one of the 26 participants involved in an innovative project called "Wine Research Team", which was conceived and directed by the oenologist Riccardo Cotarella. The intention is to produce high-quality wines without any sulfites that would preserve well. They would follow strict guidelines at every stage of the production. The project has been carrying out research and experiments both in the vineyard and in the for 8 years. It gave birth to Calvese Falanghina Sannio DOP and Costa del Duca Aglianico Sannio DOP. Working with universities, research centers and government institutions, the has been instrumental in projects working to strengthen territorial cohesion.
Farming practices: sustainable. That extends to the use of solar panels to power the .
The Janare wines are intended to safeguard and improve local grape varieties, above all Falanghina and Aglianico. The original idea was to show and enhance the unique relationship that exists between a specific grape variety and the terroir where it grows.
In the Sannio region, “janare” are the witch-like mythical figures of popular culture. They allude to the particularly indomitable spirit of the women in the area and to their ability at casting evil and deadly spells on their enemies. According to the legend, these witches hide their real identity during the day and after covering their bodies in a magic ointment, they fly at night on their broomsticks. Before taking off up, they would gather in a coven and recite the famous words: "Sott’a l’acqua, sott’a ‘r vient, sott’a la noc d’Bnvient" (“Under the sky and under the water, under the Walnut tree of Benevento”). La Guardiense pays homage to this old tradition of the Sannio region and in doing so, hopes to keep it alive.
