Vinitaly 2022
Rubino believes in the economic recovery and pushes its focus on the export market. Introducing new wines and concentrating on communicating through art.
For the 54th Edition of the International Exhibition dedicated to Italian wine, Luigi Rubino’s company turns the spotlight onto several initiatives promoting the oenological identity and soul of this specific territory. In the limelight are the four new labels and the Rubino Art Project, a project dedicated to art and all its different expressions.
Trust and resilience, for a Vinitaly relaunch. The two year pause caused by the public health crisis makes this event, at its 54th edition, particularly special for Apulian quality wines. “Verona is an important showcase for Italian wines and we must make the most of the opportunity, with professionals, with export and with communication. Its return in style is a positive sign for the future”. Romina Leopardi from Tenute Rubino underlines the importance of preparing for the Exhibition and is under no illusion: “Vinitaly is like Christmas, when it comes, you can’t miss out. It requires organising and planning to be fruitful and consistent with our chosen development targets. Today, in the current climate, in this world full of opportunities but also of risks, it’s down to the wineries to transfer the message and the attractive power that quality Italian wines are able to achieve in the most competitive markets. We are betting on identity, on the niche productions but also on a production style recognisable to the consumer”.
Tenute Rubino will be present in Hall 11 (Puglia), corridor G3, featuring its Susumaniello Project, launched twenty years ago by the Rubino Family and which over the years has continued to grow, today with six specific wines. “It is our jewel in the crown and also the result of a persistent effort to recover and promote this grape variety native to the Brindisi area- states Luigi Rubino, confirming the value of a choice made, at the time, in isolation- “Today Susumaniello is an oenological success for Apulian quality wines. It is the fruit of a consistent effort over time, lots of research and experimentation. The productive diversity of this particular variety is its signature characteristic. From important structured reds to sparkling wines, without leaving out the rosés and fresher red wines. When we began, across Apulia only a handful of dispersed hectares remained, here and there, and some weren’t even registered. Luckily today the situation is very different”.
The most eagerly awaited for label is without doubt the Palombara, produced in the Tenuta of the same name in the heart of the Tarantine Ionion arch, one of the area most well-suited to viticulture in the whole region and dedicated to the planting of Primitivo DOC from Manduria: producing a great Apulian red, which in its first vintage- in 2019- produced 36,000 bottles. An innovative wine, deeply characteristic in emphasising the varietal qualities but also modern with its elegant, silky tannins. A real transformation for Primitivo from Manduria for its fresh taste, sapidity and full body. A wine that is clearly and proudly a child of its time: supple, with character, enjoyable and multifaceted. Tenute Rubino wants to express this signature wine through the means of art. A label of Apulian oenological standing, which through the colourful and stylised graphic packaging- created by the Brindisi artist Dino Sambiasi – expresses a renewed dialogue between quality wine and contemporary art.
Oltremè Rosato on the other hand is the Susumaniello Project’s newborn, dedicated to the protection and rediscovery of traditional Apulian grape varieties from the past. The Rubino Family’s third rosé produced in Tenuta Jaddico, 8 kilometres north of Brindisi, has a label printed directly onto the bottle, its simplicity evoking the red Oltremé, creating an attractive and compelling graphic in its colour transformation. Inspired by the colours of the sky and sea, associated with carefree moments and occasions of pure joy and togetherness.
In the new estate Tenuta Padula di Geremia, in the area around Cisternino, Martina Franca and Ceglie Messapica, Lamiro, a single-variety Verdeca that expresses elegance, freshness and all the fragrance of a great white wine grown in Apulia and Mimante Oro (3000 bottles), which has already been awarded a prestigious 96/100 from Doctor Wine by Daniele Cernilli. An expression of the surprising evolution of the 2015 vintage of this single-variety Minutolo, available only in limited edition.
“We are extremely proud to be bringing these great new additions to Vinitaly, the result of over a decade of work concentrated on the recovery of native varieties- explains Luigi Rubino, the head of the family company-. The Palombara Project in particular represents the best example of the winery’s story experienced through the continuous dialogue between the vineyard and the cellar, between viticulture and the experienced oenologist”.
Building on the company’s extensive experience, where the wine’s story is told through artistic expression converted into all its different mediums (music, figurative and visual art, dance and theatre), 2022 will be the start of a new initiative: the Rubino Art Project (R.A.P.) launches a new phase of its journey which began in 2020 with the creation of the Torre Testa Doc Brindisi 2017 label. A valued production which, thanks to a graphical representation with a strong visual impact- created by Studio Atelier 790- has been awarded the silver medal by Vinitaly Design International Packaging Competition 2022. Skill, craftsmanship and the use of pictorial expression projects this memorable bottle towards a group of consumers that are more aware and increasingly appreciate the values and the characteristics of the terroir of origin.