Bruno and His Wines

With my wife driving a rental, the three of us continue to make our way inland, out of Paestum due east, uphill and somehow find our way to De Conciliis's. Bruno is waiting for us and his English is exceptional and his greeting is warm and sincere. Bruno's smile is infectious and I think even Donald might be comfortable hanging around with the grownups today. Immediately, Bruno lights up a long pencil thin cigarette which is something that, this being Italy, will be replayed all day. We talk briefly about the wine business, my flight from America and when my wife explains she is from the Cilento and from the tiny town of Sacco, Bruno smiles and ushers us inside to his office to show us 'something'? Inside his office, displaying minimalism at its height of fashion, is a black and white photo of the sorgento, a natural mountain spring river that originates in Sacco. From that moment on, I am no longer another wine guy visiting the area looking for a cheap drink, but instead his paesano stopping by to say hello. Bruno says the sorgento and its stark natural beauty is inspiring and later, after being with Bruno all day I realize that Bruno is inspired by nature. Bruno's only other decoration is a map of Burgundy with all the different vineyard sites detailed. Curious, I ask why the map of Burgundy in the deep south of Italy? Bruno easily replies because this is, his dream for HIS zone, not for today or tomorrow but for the future, "we're the 1st real generation of winemakers and it's our job to lead but this is not for me, or my children, but hopefully the 3rd generation to add to and to make into something special".

We all head off to his cantina to taste some wines and though he offers a coffee, and I could use the jolt, I decline and get ready for some tasting of wine from the Cilento. The De Conciliis property extends in many directions and his vineyards are parceled across the area. The main area we're in is not beautiful or stylistically decorated but instead more farm than California Italian. This is my first stop on my trip but not the first time I've seen this, as many of these small wineries put their money back into their most important product their wines. Tourism this far south is for Bruno's children to contemplate, his job is to make great wine, find out which grapes grow best for each particular site and how to do it without upsetting nature.
At the barrels, Bruno offers me tastes from an assortment of wines, whites and reds galore. He doesn't sell all of these, many are experiments as he is constantly working on the right blends. The whites, like his Fiano, have a vibrancy and roundness that screams southern Italian. I don't taste the lemons so much in these which is a revelation, but instead get more of the earth and creaminess in each. His reds, mostly aglianico, but some Primitivo thrown in are young and a little fierce like aglianico's can be but with more fruit on them than others I have grown accustomed to from further north in Campania. The Primitivo, a genetic cousin to our zinfandel, seems to work very well here, and to my simple mind, makes for a natural complement. Bruno is generous with his pours and we taste many wines, some ready for bottling some never to be, all interesting. We talk about his winemaking philosophy and he is expressive and honest. He doesn't consider himself a magician able to coax something out of the air but explains that every vintage is different and it's his job to to help lead the grapes along to where 'they want to go and should be, nature always dictates'. He believes in natural fermenting and uses no temperature controls during the fermenting process. I ask about the media and the critics, and Bruno without flinching responds,"I don't make wine for the critics, if I let them dictate my style I will lose my expression". Much of what I had read about Bruno centered on his love for music, jazz in particular and today we can hear the music in the cellar playing softly, helping the wine to age gracefully, I assume. Naima, Bruno's signature red, is named after a John Coltrane song and Selim[ a sparkling white] is his salutation to Miles Davis, as it's Miles spelled in reverse. Across the spectrum the wines are all delicious and honest expressions of the area and I wonder if someday many years from now, will this be the birthplace of a new Burgundy.

After our cellar visit, Bruno asks if we would like to see his vineyard sites and I am excited to oblige. We take a short ride in his car and travel further uphill to visit his prize parcels where much of his aglianico is planted. We talk along the way about his transformation. De Conciliis was a student in Bologna's art, music and drama school and then moved on like me to finance where he worked for American Express. Like me, that experience, going to dinner at top restaurants, drinking fabulous wines, opened his eyes to what great wines can taste like. Also, that experience made him aware that corporate life was not for him. He returned home to the Cilento and coaxed his father into turning the family chicken farm into a wine estate. Heck, if they can go from chicken farming to wine making, I think I might have a shot at this food and wine transformation myself!
We make ourselves to his vineyards and the panorama is spectacular. Depending on the angle you can see the blue waters of the Mediterranean in the distance, which beside looking great provides the needed night time cool breezes for the vines. All of the vines are planted on slopes and Bruno explains everything is currently organic with one plot being totally biodynamic for his high end Zero, a 100% Aglianico, at the moment. The plan is to make everything biodynamic in the near future and when I ask about it , Bruno replies, "its for the next generation, let's leave them something good to work with". We look closely at the vines and Bruno casually picks off a snail from a leaf and tosses it to the side, replying that the snail needs to eat too. The soils down here in southern Campania tend to be a mix of schist, clay and sand which is much different from the volcanic soils in the northern end. The heat down here as well as these hard soils give the wines a lesser tannic bent and provide more ripe fruit to the wines. Bruno is giving us the full tour and when I see my 10 year old with glazed eyes I tell Bruno thank you but I think my troupe has had enough and we agree that I will return at another time to see it all. Bruno is also a family man, having 2 daughters himself, so he understands and jokes with Donald as we head back to the main house where he insists we must stay to have lunch after my long trip, with his family. We hop back in his car and head downhill to oblige this gentle and generous man that I met such a short time ago yet feel that we have known each other lifetimes. It's also been a while since my last trip and I miss Campania knowing a simple family meal is always special.