Discover the Il Verro brand: here’s our interview.

The wine company Il Verro is a winery that is based on the enhancement of the wine heritage of the territory and the production of quality wines linked to traditions.
Il Verro is located in Campania at the foot of Monte Maggiore in the Caserta inland.

The company was founded in 2003 by the current sole owner Cesare Avenia, who, together with four other friends, founded the winery Il Verro. Thus, a piece of land in gentle decline, completely overrun by brambles and weeds, became the catalyst for the energies of friends who were eager to return to the solid values of the oldest traditions of their native land, giving life to an ambitious entrepreneurial initiative aimed at enhancing the wine heritage of the territory and producing organic, artisanal wines in absolute respect of the characteristics of local grape varieties and eco-sustainability.
Monte Maggiore, which dominates on one side the basin rich in mineral waters of Riardo and on the other the Volturno valley, has been since the time of the Bourbons a wild boar hunting ground of the barony of Formicola. The name of the company originates from this, from “u verru”: the name Casertani gave to the male of the wild boar.

Il Verro produces approximately 20,000 bottles from organic farming, resulting from the processing of four native grape varieties: Pallagrello Bianco, Coda di Pecora, Casavecchia, and Pallagrello Nero. Furthermore, Il Verro has rediscovered and started a process to enhance the ancient Coda di Pecora grape variety, which was previously cultivated in the area between Monte Maggiore and Roccamonfina, and has been the subject of experimentation for a few years now. To date, they are the only producers selling wines from this rare grape variety in purity.

We love these artisans, these producers of unique, certified, and award-winning delicacies: they are real treasures nestled in our Peninsula between seas and mountains and in the most remote streets of villages and countryside. We do not just stop at enjoying their products, but we want to discover more closely the protagonists of this brand. That’s why we sent some questions to those who manage the communication with us.

Stay with us to learn about Il Verro: read the answers!
 

• Who are we talking to?
  I am Cesare Avenia, Owner and Sole Administrator.
   
• Is the company family-run? In what year was the company founded and who was the founder?
  The company is not family-run and was founded in 2003.
   
• Who was the founder and what was their background or what field of work and profession did they come from if different from the current one?
  In 2003, I founded the company together with four high school friends. I am an electronic engineer and have always worked in telecommunications, holding high-level managerial positions in multinational companies.
   
• What is the real reason or trigger behind the birth of this company and when did it happen?
  Starting in the 1990s, traveling the world gave me the opportunity to appreciate the world of wine, which pushed me to enhance the native grape varieties of my homeland.
   
• What is your relationship with your land of origin and its uniqueness? And why do you want to tell it through your products?
  I have always been connected to my land of origin: I traveled a lot, but when I came back, the most beautiful thing was always appreciating the typical products of my land, such as buffalo mozzarella, Annurca apples, and local wines from indigenous grape varieties.
   
• What was the first product you created?
  The first product was the Verginiano, obtained from pure Pallagrello Bianco grapes, named in honor of the Virginian friars who were already present in the Municipality of Formicola in the early 1700s.
   
• What product do you consider to be your "flagship" today?
  The Sheep wine, made from grapes called "coda di pecora" by local farmers, is not yet officially recognized in the list of national indigenous grape varieties, but it has been studied and already mentioned by Frojo in the agronomy manual of the late 1800s, and its DNA is included in the database of Italian grape varieties. We are the only producers marketing this ancient grape variety, which we are thus enhancing and recovering.
   
• And what product has most represented the beating heart, philosophy, and soul of the company throughout its entire history?
  Always the Sheep, as the philosophy of our company is to enhance the autochthonous grape varieties of our work land, and the coda di pecora represents a grape variety that is yet to be fully discovered.
   
• Let's talk about today: how much has the company grown since its inception? Can we have some numbers?
  When we started with our first harvest in 2008, we had only 2 hectares of vineyards producing 8000 bottles. Currently, the company has 15 hectares of property, of which 5 hectares are cultivated with vines, and an average production of 25,000 bottles.
   
• At this moment: more tradition or more innovation?
  I believe that to keep tradition alive, it is always necessary to invest in the innovation of production processes with respect to environmental and ecological sustainability, which is why we have cultivated vineyards according to organic regulations from the beginning and maintain our commitment to use all technological innovations that allow us to reduce water and energy consumption.
   
• What has been the most important evolution of the company to make it what it is today?
  Great consistency in the project and in the adoption of the initial philosophy of organic and collaboration with oenologist Vincenzo Mercurio, who shares the same philosophy.
   
• Instead, looking towards the future: what future awaits the company? Are there plans for any changes or new evolutionary processes?
  Yes, we foresee, with the collaboration of Professor Giancarlo Moschetti from the University of Palermo, to select indigenous yeasts from our grape varieties for increasingly natural fermentation.
   
• Are you planning to create new products?
  Yes, we plan to add a sparkling wine produced using the classic method to our product line.
   
• Having relied on Spaghetti & Mandolino, how important is online sales for you? What has your relationship with this sales channel been in the past, and how do you see it in the future?
  For us, multi-channeling is important to reach the largest variety of our customers. We have always considered this channel important, but evidently, with the epidemic situation, this channel has become even more essential.
   
• Value: what has it been, what is it today, and what will it be in the future for your company?
  To create high-quality products linked to the territory and local wine traditions while respecting environmental sustainability.

S&M