In 1963, a group of 80 women planted some vines in Lazio, about a ninety minute drive north of Rome. Almost sixty years later, the vines are all grown up. The 80 women who planted... Read More

In 1963, a group of 80 women planted some vines in Lazio, about a ninety minute drive north of Rome. Almost sixty years later, the vines are all grown up. The 80 women who planted are all gone now, but there are still 80 women watching the vines and making wine from them.

Those 80 women are Sisters of the Cistercian Order who live and work at the monastery in Vitorchiano. Over those 60 years, little has changed. But a few years ago, there was a single, dramatic change: Giampiero Bea entered the story.

The bottles may look slightly familiar. Why? Because of their eerie resemblance to the labels of Paolo Bea. Giampiero is Bea’s son and the current winemaker at the family winery. And it is Giampiero who now works with the eighty nuns.

The mark of Paolo Bea is all over these wines, and not just their labels. They have Bea's rare combination of wildness and elegance. They are unique, but not weightily so; they are even playful. In art terms, you might compare these wines to a work of Jasper Johns.