Dario de Pascale followed his grandfather's passion for winemaking, taking over the small family vineyard to start Amalberga with his good friend, Roberto Fracassetti. Located on the south facing hills of Ostuni (the White City) in Puglia, their vines are planted in silty-clay with a good portion of chalky, limestone pebbles. Cio Cio is a declassified Vino da Tavola due to its atypical blend of Negramaro, Ottavianello, Susumaniello, Verdeca and Minutolo (three red grapes and two white, all five indigenous to Puglia) that are co-fermented in stainless steel tank at a cool 12ºC by the super talented Gloria Battista who came on board as both winemaker and equity partner in 2018. While most of the juice is blended into the current release, a small portion is kept for the following year as a perpetual reserve. The result is a fresh, light bodied, chillable red that ’s super unique and totally crushable with wild raspberry and stone fruit aromas and flavors, low tannins, crisp acidity and some earthy minerality. Pairs perfectly with Orecchetti al Pomodoro, seafood crudo or Focaccia Barese.