Cantina di Venosa

Cantina di Venosa is a cooperative winery in Venosa, a town in the volcanic foothills of Mount Vulture in Basilicata. Twenty-seven growers founded it in 1957. More than 350 members now send fruit from around 800 hectares, about 1,100 football pitches of vines. It is one of southern Italy's leading specialists in Aglianico del Vulture DOC. The flagship Carato Venusio is an Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG from old vines at around 400 metres. It has won a Decanter World Wine Awards gold and four corkscrews in the AIS Vitae guide.

Cantina di Venosa estate and Vulture vineyards in Basilicata

About Cantina di Venosa

The cooperative was founded in 1957 by 27 growers at the foot of Mount Vulture, an extinct volcano. Its ash and basalt soils have shaped Basilicata's red wine for centuries. Nearly seventy years on, the model is unchanged. More than 350 growers now deliver fruit, most of it from vines around Venosa itself. The town grows more Aglianico than anywhere else in the Vulture zone.

Everything centres on Aglianico del Vulture. Aglianico ripens late, and its name traces back to the Greek word 'Hellenico'. The wines are known for ripe black fruit, a stony volcanic edge of minerality, and tannins that reward slow ageing in oak.

The reds ferment in stainless steel, then move to French and Slavonian barrels. The fullest, longest-aged lots become Carato Venusio, the flagship Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG. Its grapes come from vines 15 to 30 years old, at around 400 metres on Vulture's slopes. The wine has taken gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards and four corkscrews in the AIS Vitae guide.

The rest of the range maps the territory. Verbo and Gesualdo da Venosa cover Aglianico del Vulture DOP at different ageing levels. Terre di Orazio and D'Avalos put the volcano's whites and roses on the table. Verbo Bianco Malvasia and Terre di Orazio Dry Muscat carry the area's aromatic white tradition. Together they read like a cross-section of the whole zone, which only a cooperative with members everywhere could assemble.

The vineyards are watched from space. Since 2018 satellite maps have tracked vine health across the members' plots, work that won a Coldiretti Oscar Green award in 2022. The cellar gained the Equalitas sustainability mark in 2023, runs a 200 kW solar roof, and bottles in 70 per cent recycled glass.

Venosa is one of Basilicata's most underrated cultural stops. The Roman poet Horace was born here, and so was the composer Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa. The cellar is a short walk from the old centre, on the ancient Via Appia. There is no online booking, but visits and tastings are arranged directly with the winery. One stop can cover the full spread of Vulture Aglianico, with no need to chase small estates across the hills.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · BASILICATA

Cantina di Venosa on the Basilicata wine atlas

Via Appia - Loc. Vignali, 85029 Venosa, Potenza (Basilicata)
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Visit & Experiences

Experiences at Cantina di Venosa

Nothing here can be booked online yet. The experiences below are documented by our editors. The estate's contact details are in Practical info.

Cellar visit and Aglianico tasting at Cantina di Venosa Tasting

Cellar visit and Aglianico tasting

The Via Appia cooperative cellar receives visitors for guided tastings spanning the Vulture range, from Verbo Aglianico through to the Carato Venusio Superiore DOCG. There is no online booking page; reach the office by email or phone in advance to confirm availability and group size.

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cantinadivenosa.it/
Via Appia - Loc. Vignali, 85029 Venosa, Potenza (Basilicata)
+39 097236702
[email protected]

Common questions

  • It is a cooperative winery in Venosa, a town at the foot of Mount Vulture in Basilicata. Twenty-seven growers founded it in 1957. Today more than 350 members send grapes from roughly 800 hectares, and it is the largest Aglianico del Vulture DOC specialist in the zone.
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