Azienda Agricola Serracavallo

Azienda Agricola Serracavallo farms high ground above Bisignano in northern Calabria. Its vines sit at nearly 600 metres, looking down over the Crati Valley, on soil of granite and sand. The estate belongs to Demetrio Stancati and his family. Native Calabrian grapes lead the planting: Magliocco Dolce for the reds and Pecorello for the whites, with a few international varieties beside them. About 42 football pitches of vineyard fall inside the Terre di Cosenza DOP. The top reds age underground, in a cellar of French oak barrels built into the slope.

Vineyards of Azienda Agricola Serracavallo above the Crati Valley near Bisignano, Calabria

About Azienda Agricola Serracavallo

The Stancati family's wine story starts in the 1930s with Demetrio's grandfather, a doctor with a passion for winemaking, who worked these slopes first. Demetrio picked up where he left off. Since 1995 he has rebuilt the vineyard plot by plot. He kept the grapes that had always grown on the property, Magliocco Dolce, Pecorello and Brezio, and replanted them from his best vines. International varieties went in only where they ripen well at this height.

The name Serracavallo is older than the vineyard. The site once served the Sanseverino princes as a stud farm for the White Chinea, the local horse sent to Rome as a tribute to the Pope. Today the estate covers about 70 football pitches of land, with restored country houses, farmhouses and old workshops among the vines. The vineyards sit on granite ridges between Bisignano and Acri, around 35 kilometres north of Cosenza.

At 600 metres the days are warm and the nights cold. That swing keeps the whites fresh and aromatic: Pecorello, Greco Bianco, Chardonnay and Riesling. It also tightens the structure of the reds, where Magliocco Dolce works alongside Cabernet Sauvignon. Vines are trained to guyot and picked by hand in several passes, so only fully ripe bunches reach the cellar.

The cellar was rebuilt in 2008 and runs on steel tanks with controlled temperatures. Beneath it, an underground room holds the French oak barriques and tonneaux where the top reds age. Terraccia, the aged red, and the white Filovento lead the range. Terraccia 2021 won the Grande Medaille d'Or at the 2024 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. The estate fills around 150,000 bottles a year, all as Terre di Cosenza DOP or Calabria IGP.

This is a working farm, not a single crop. Around the vines grow olive groves covering about 14 football pitches, planted with Carolea and Dolce di Rossano, plus the Calabrian fico dottato fig. Guests can stay at La Foresteria di Serracavallo, the on-site guesthouse, with five rooms and twelve beds in the restored buildings. Every visit tells the estate's story, walks the vineyard and the cellar, and ends with a tasting: there are five, from three to six wines, one of them devoted to Magliocco. Visits are by booking only.

Editorial · ItalianWines.co.uk

Plate I · CALABRIA

Azienda Agricola Serracavallo on the Calabria wine atlas

Terre di Cosenza, Italy
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Visit & Experiences

Experiences at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo

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

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Classici: three wines at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo Tasting & Tour

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Classici: three wines

75 minutes €15 per person

The visit starts with the estate's story and its land, walks among the vines and ends in the cellar. Then three wines are poured, a white, a rosé and a red, where the local grape meets international ones in fresh, easy wines. For 2 to 16 guests, by booking only: weekdays at 11:00 or 16:00, Saturdays at 11:00 for at least 6 guests.

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Not bookable online yet

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Territoriali: three wines at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo Tasting & Tour

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Territoriali: three wines

75 minutes €20 per person

The visit starts with the estate's story and its land, walks among the vines and ends in the cellar. Then three wines are poured, a white, a rosé and a red, chosen to show the land the estate stands on. For 2 to 16 guests, by booking only: weekdays at 11:00 or 16:00, Saturdays at 11:00 for at least 6 guests.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, il Magliocco: four wines from one grape at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo Tasting & Tour

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, il Magliocco: four wines from one grape

90 minutes €25 per person

The visit starts with the estate's story and its land, walks among the vines and ends in the cellar. Then four wines show every side of Magliocco, the leading grape of the Terre di Cosenza DOP: the rosé, the young wine, the aged wine and the sweet wine. For 2 to 16 guests, by booking only: weekdays at 11:00 or 16:00, Saturdays at 11:00 for at least 6 guests.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Sentori del Granito: four whites and rosés at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo Tasting & Tour

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, i Sentori del Granito: four whites and rosés

90 minutes €25 per person

The visit starts with the estate's story and its land, walks among the vines and ends in the cellar. Then four whites and rosés show how the granite soil and the altitude shape each wine. For 2 to 16 guests, by booking only: weekdays at 11:00 or 16:00, Saturdays at 11:00 for at least 6 guests.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, Extra: six wines at Azienda Agricola Serracavallo Tasting & Tour

Dal Campo al Bicchiere, Extra: six wines

105 minutes €30 per person

The visit starts with the estate's story and its land, walks among the vines and ends in the cellar. Then six wines across the range, whites, rosés and reds, show how the estate works its grapes and its land. For 2 to 16 guests, by booking only: weekdays at 11:00 or 16:00, Saturdays at 11:00 for at least 6 guests.

Ask the estate

Not bookable online yet

Not seeing the estate you want? Estates without an online listing are reachable directly, and their phone and email are in Plan your visit.

Wines from Azienda Agricola Serracavallo

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Wines for this winery are still being curated. Check back as the UK retailer selection expands.

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viniserracavallo.com/
Terre di Cosenza, Italy
+39 98421144
[email protected]

Common questions

  • The estate is in Contrada Serracavallo, just above the town of Bisignano in the province of Cosenza, in northern Calabria. It is around 35 km north of Cosenza city, on the road from Bisignano to Acri. The vineyards sit at roughly 600 metres above sea level, on granite ridges overlooking the Crati Valley.
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