L'Acino
Wild South
In 2006, three friends—Dino Briglio, Emilio Di Cianni, and Antonello Canonico—launched L'Acino near the ancient fortified town of San Marco Argentano. With no formal training but plenty of passion, they set out to produce light, fresh, elegant natural wines that break from Calabria's traditional high-alcohol stereotypes. Named after the Italian word for "grape berry," L'Acino celebrates indigenous varieties from the rugged Pollino foothills.
Rooted Ancient Vines
Historian meets the wild
Before founding L'Acino, Dino Briglio was a historian. Emilio Di Cianni and Antonello Canonico brought their own expertise, but none had formal winemaking backgrounds. They started with a one-hectare Mantonico vineyard at 650 meters altitude on the edge of Pollino National Park, then acquired Magliocco plots and eventually 12 more acres on a windy, dramatically sloped site with sandy soils over solid sandstone.
For us, producing natural wines has never been dictated by a passing trend. We only work by traditional ways, the way of our families and neighbors.
— Dino Briglio on authenticity
High-altitude vineyards (520-650m+) create dramatic day-night temperature swings. Sandy, iron-rich soils over limestone and schist provide drainage and minerality. Some vines are 40-90 years old, never grafted onto American rootstocks—own-rooted indigenous varieties thriving in their ancestral home.
The winery operates at Masseria Perugini, a working agricultural estate featuring an acclaimed restaurant, charming grounds, and overnight accommodations as an "agriturismo." Visitors are welcomed by friendly dogs and kittens while Antonello leads winemaking with heady smells of fermenting grapes filling the air.
Light, Fresh, Elegant
L'Acino's mission was revolutionary for Calabria: to create wines that are light, fresh, and elegant rather than the traditional powerful, high-alcohol styles historically used for blending. They farm organically, using only plowing and natural treatments—no chemical herbicides or pesticides. In the cellar, indigenous yeasts, no temperature control, minimal sulfur, and transparent winemaking reveal exactly what these steep sandy slopes can produce.
- Certified Organic Natural treatments only
- Indigenous Yeasts Spontaneous fermentation
- No Temperature Control Natural cellar conditions
- Manual Harvesting Hand-selected grapes
- Unfined & Unfiltered Minimal sulfur
In any other place, this would be considered a grand cru site. The vineyards usually last 40 to 90 years and have never been grafted onto native American rootstocks.
— On their unique vineyards
Wines of Character
From the flagship Chora blends to the whimsical single-varietal expressions with playful names, L'Acino's wines tell stories of Calabrian heritage. Each label celebrates indigenous grapes—some varieties like Guarnaccia Bianca and Guarnaccia Nera arrived from Spain in the 1500s when the Kingdom of Aragon ruled the region.
All wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts without temperature control. Reds typically see stainless steel aging, with some exceptions like Giramondo aged in mulberry barrels. Whites are direct-pressed or given brief skin contact. All wines are unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur added only when necessary. Vegan-friendly production.
Magna Graecia Heritage
The ancient Greeks called this land Enotria—"Land of Wine." The name "Chora" (Χώρα) for their entry wines refers to the ancient Greek name for San Marco Argentano, reflecting the region's deep Hellenistic roots. L'Acino is part of Calabria's modern renaissance, reclaiming indigenous varieties like Magliocco Dolce and Mantonico from obscurity after the phylloxera epidemic nearly erased them.
Magliocco (Canino and Dolce), Mantonico Bianco, Greco Bianco, Guarnaccia Bianca and Nera, Pecorello, Malvasia, and Guardavalle. Some vines date to the 1930s-40s, own-rooted and ungrafted, surviving on their own terms in these sandy soils.
The 12-acre windy, dramatically sloped site with sandy soils covering solid sandstone rock. Plentiful sun exposure and constant mountain breezes create ideal conditions for slow-ripening grapes with optimal balance of fruit, acidity, and mature tannins.