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The Company
The Family
The de Corato family's roots lie firmly in the land of Puglia, in the Andria countryside, on the plateau separating the Murgia hills and the Adriatic Sea where Giuseppe, the family patriarch born in the mid-nineteenth century, was a farmer with great entrepreneurial qualities. In 1921, transforming into a model olive-growing company, he purchased the vast Rivera estates that had belonged for centuries to the’ noble Abruzzese family of the same name, whose founder was captain of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia who donated them to him.
It is in the historic cellars of the estates that Sebastiano de Corato, the youngest and most visionary of Giuseppe's sons, founded Rivera at the end of the ’40 years, sensing the great winemaking potential of the hilly area dominated by the enigmatic Castel del Monte, a masterpiece of Frederick II and symbol of the territory. His ambition to create a label that would represent Puglia in the wine firmament and his tenacity were soon rewarded, making Rivera an emblem of the region's oenology and an indisputable driving force of its rebirth.
In the years ’70 Carlo, son of Sebastiano, was the architect of experiments in the vineyards and modernizations in the cellar which led to the development of innovative wines in the regional wine scene. Under his gaze, his sons Sebastiano and Marco, representing the fourth generation, today continue with commitment and pride a success story that has lasted over a century and which has made Rivera wines ambassadors of Puglia in markets around the world.
The Cellars and The Estate
Located on the ancient Via Traiana at the foot of the hills of Alta Murgia, the Rivera estates are a symbol of the history and agricultural development of an entire territory. Today, the farm extends over 150 hectares, evenly divided between vineyards and centuries-old olive groves specialized and cultivated according to sustainable agriculture protocols, which surround the production complex that recounts, in its stratifications, the evolution of wine production over the last century.
The historic cellars, built at the end of the 19th century, are today used to refine red wines in underground cooperages containing French oak barrels and barriques. After initial successes, a new wing was built in the ’60s, made with vitrified concrete wine vases, later modernized and completely heat-conditioned, dedicated to the finishing and preservation of younger white, rosé and red wines.
The oenological heart of the company today is the modern and efficient winemaking department built next to the old cellars and equipped with small stainless steel tanks intended for the maceration of rosé and red wines and the fermentation of whites. The entire business complex is powered by a photovoltaic system that covers 35% of the entire energy needs.
In accordance with the company's philosophy, the most modern viticulture and oenology techniques are combined at all stages of the production process –vineyard breeding, grape harvesting, winemaking, aging, and wine bottling– with absolute respect for natural processes, with a view to environmental and economic sustainability and continuous quality improvement.
The Territory
The DOC and DOCG Castel del Monte
Castel del Monte is the ideal symbol to identify one of the areas with the most marked winemaking vocation in Puglia, which became DOC in 1971 and DOCG in 2011. The area covers the hills of the Alta Murgia and the pre-Murgian plateau with a significant difference in landscapes and terrain types. Above 300 meters above sea level, two limestone rocks with karst formations reign, while on the plateau between 180 and 250 meters the soils are loose and deep tufaceous-limestone marine sedimentation. In these lands with a Mediterranean climate, characterised by cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers mitigated by sea breezes, the native varieties are raised:
white berry:
Pampanuto
White Bombino
Fiano
Royal Muscat
black berry:
Black Bombino
Black of Troy
Montepulciano
Aglianico
which have been joined, thanks to experimentation by Rivera agronomists, by international white varieties – Chardonnay and Sauvignon – which have also become part of the DOC specifications. Castel del Monte.
