Chiusa Grande is a remarkable Abruzzese estate, home to outstanding Montepulciano and Passerina farmed and vinified organically, vegan, and without additives aside from small SO2.

Franco d’Eusanio inspires us with his passion for nature. He’s successfully championed clean wines of precision and reliability. His passion for offering those wines at a reliable price is also inspiring—wines with this kind of farming and minimalist winemaking need to be affordable to change the wine landscape as a whole. Franco’s goal is to prove that farms can give back to nature, make delicious terroir wines, and offer them at weekday prices. If you want to know more about the characteristics of this area you can take a look at www.vinerra.com

Learn more about Chiusa Grande below, but first:

THE WINES

2020 Vinosophia Bianco

100% Passerina

This wine is an old friend. With it’s crisp apple and nectarine profile textured with a rich almondine finish, Chiusa Grande’s Passerina has always been a go to grab for a wide spectrum of dishes.

Following a 24 hour hyper oxygenation in contact with the skins after pressing, the wine is pressed to stainless steel to ferment with indigenous yeast, then aged six months in contact with the lees. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with a pinch of SO2.

797857 | 30 cases avail.

2020 Vinosophia Rosato

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOCG

100% Montepulciano

A red blooded rosé rich in cherry, almond, and herbal dynamism. A broadly textured full MLF example that has never failed to please any crowd we open it for. So crushable, so delicious, transforming from a mineral driven gentle wine at fridge temp to a richer and richer style as it warms. Equal parts thinky & drinky!

Following a 24 hour hyper oxygenation in contact with the skins after pressing, the wine is pressed to stainless steel to ferment with indigenous yeast, then aged six months in contact with the lees. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with a pinch of SO2.

804700 | 19 cases avail.

2020 Vinosophia Rosso

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOCG

100% Montepulciano

Abruzzo’s classic table wine. Montepulciano is an under-appreciated workhorse. An accurate classic wine showing an easy and natural balance. The respect for tradition is beautiful. Black cherry, light pepper, bay leaf, and tobacco with a hint of florality.

Destemmed, crushed, and fermented with indigenous yeast in stainless steel. Brief ageing in french oak. Unfined and unfiltered (but racked off the sediment), bottled with a pinch of S02.

797856 | 120 cases avail.

2020 Integro Bianco

100% Chardonnay

This pét nat is everything pét nat is meant to be—so fresh, so fun, so easy drinking. Tip, swivel, and pop a cloudy juicy nectarine-pineappley chard with terrific texture, always clean and flawless, always tasty and thirst quenching.

Direct pressed and fermented in bottle with nothing added or taken away.

832019 | 14 cases avail.

Franco D’Eusanio, a graduate in agricultural sciences and consultant to the winegrowing industry for many years, found his winery in 1994. With his heartfelt belief in the organic farming philosophy, Franco earned himself the titles of “vinosopher” and “bio-innovator”, his love of Nature dictated by ethical beliefs and his quest to revive tradition for the recovery of equilibrium in the ecosystem.

The wines of Chiusa Grande begin almost in reverse, with a philosophical ideal, that is then applied to an appropriate site to achieve the results. Franco D’Eusanio founded Chiusa Grande after working as a consultant to winegrowers for many years. With a genuine conviction in the organic farming belief, and a desire to revive the tradition of an ecosystem in equilibrium, the wines are first built on the belief that a love and respect of nature are paramount. The rest follows from there, guided gently, without ego, or eyes towards stylistic demands, but with a heartfelt desire to respect tradition, while utilizing the appropriate modern techniques. A current, and pragmatic approach, to building the wines of the past in the current day, as nature allows.

“The decision to embrace organic agriculture cannot be driven solely by the need to flood the market. The foundation must be one of committed beliefs and a lifestyle attuned to the choices made. We have to understand how farming that relies on intensive use of chemicals will lead us down a blind alley. I believe it’s possible to make a good wine without bowing down to the god of profit, and with an eye to the health of the consumer’s mind and body.” Franco D’Eusanio.