The Golden Star at the Settantacinque Copertino Doc of Cupertinum

The Cupertinum, the historic winery from Copertino, has just received this announcement from the Vinibuoni d’Italia Guide of Italian Touring Club: “Dear President of Cupertinum, Ancient Winery in Salento, I congratulate you and all your staff because your Settantacinque Copertino Doc Rosso 2008, following the tastings and selections made by the board of Vinibuoni d’Italia guide, during the finals held in Buttrio (Udine), won the GOLDEN STAR. This international recognition will be reported in 2018 Vinibuoni Guide with a special symbol. Congratulations for the award and a warm greetings. ” The signature is of Mario Busso, director of this prestigious Guide.

(Francesco Trono, president, Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi, oenologist, Marcello Raganato, vice president)

Satisfied for the recognition received, the President Francesco Trono states: “It is the fourth Golden Star won by Cupertinum wines in the last seven years. A confirmation of the quality project desired by our members and board directors, project that has been carried out with determination also by all staff of the Winery. Just in these days the Guide to Pleasures and Flavors of Apulia by La Repubblica has been relased, and it rewards the Settantacinque with Five Stars, the highest score. A wine about which everybody agrees!” The oenologist Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi is also very pleased: “We have always won the Golden Star with wines based on Negroamaro, but the Touring Guide has always emphasized the high level of the wines of Cupertinum. Copertino has clayy soil, of different composition, placed above hard or tuffed limestones; in vinification our aim is to emphasize the specificity of terroir, that is, of the relationship between soil, microclimate and vine. In my opinion this is one of the simple secrets that give our wines a personality that stands out for harmony and elegance”.

Cupertinum Golden Star Vinibuoni Settantacinque riserva

 

Technical Sheet of the SETTANTACINQUE Copertino Doc Rosso Riserva.

From Negroamaro grapes, with minor additions of Malvasia Nera and Montepulciano. Garnet red wine, with a scent that from vinous discloses a persistent bouquet, with hints of plum, has a dry and warm taste, rich and slightly bitter aftertaste with notes of ripe fruit that well reveal the variety and its territoriality, harmonious and long at the end.

Serving suggestions: main courses with red meat or game, ripe cheeses.

Recommended serving temperature: 18°.

Harvest: mid September.

Yield per hectare: 80 quintals.

Vine stocks per hectare: from 4500 to 5000.

Training system: Apulian shrub-vines.

Vinification: Maceration on the skins for 7/8 days at 28° C; soft pressing and aging in stainless steel.
 

 

“I see confirmation and surprises in the new 2026 wine guides for our wines. With these awards, Cupertinum confirms its status as a company of excellence, reliable over time, dynamic in identifying new goals and achieving them,” says Francesco Trono, president of Cupertinum. Winemaker Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi, now accustomed to the awards that come flooding in year after year, is also satisfied: “The focus on quality and modern winemaking that respects tradition is understood and rewarded. These awards reward the members, the winery’s workers, and the territory.”

 Here is a brief list of recent awards and prizes received by Cupertinum wines:

  • Cupertinum has been included among the best Italian wineries in Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book guide to wines from around the world. The renowned guide, edited by Margaret Rand, recommends: Copertino Riserva, Settantacinque, Spinello dei Falconi, and Negroamaro!
  • Danielle Callegari of Wine Enthusiast award: 92 points to Copertino Riserva DOC; 91 points to Primitivo Salento IGT: “two fantastic deals from this winery that confirm the high quality of the company’s labels.”
  • Wine Spectator awards Copertino Riserva DOC 2015: 89 points and Aldieri Primitivo Salento IGT 2021: 89 points (“well-elevated reds, medium-bodied, with light tannins,” says expert Eric Guido).
  • As far as international recognition is concerned, another great result is worth mentioning: the Gold Medal at the International Wine & Spirits Awards for COPERTINO RISERVA and POGGIANI Negroamaro.
  • Guida essenziale ai vini d’Italia (DoctorWine Daniele Cernilli )awards Copertino Riserva 92 points and Spibello dei Falconi 90 points.
  • The VITAE guide published by the Sommelier Association awards 4 VITI to Settantacinque Copertino and 3 VITI to Copertino Doc, Copertino Riserva, Poggiani Negroamaro, and Spinello dei Falconi. The sommeliers write: “wines of recognized and appreciated quality; the Negroamaro, in its various forms, represents the jewel in the crown.”
  • SlowWine: Cupertinum is featured in the SlowFood guide with the TopWine award for Spinello dei Falconi and a beautiful description that highlights the advantageous quality/price ratio, with accurate and complimentary organoleptic descriptions of all the wines.
  • The Touring Club’s Vinibuoni d’Italia guide awards our wines 4 stars to Copertino DOC Riserva, Copertino DOC and Spinello dei Falconi and 3 stars to Squarciafico Rosato and Settantacinque.
  • Bibenda, the guide published by the Italian Sommelier Foundation, awards Settantacinque, Copertino DOC Riserva, Aldieri Primitivo, and Poggiani Negroamaro with 4 Grappoli.
  • The Veronelli Guide awards 3 Red Stars to Settantacinque Copertino DOC and 2 Stars to all wines, with special mention to Spinello dei Falconi and all Copertino DOC wines.
  • The Il Golosario guide by Gatti/Massobrio names Primitivo as a Top Wine.

“Wine is the song of the earth to the sky” wrote the master of food and wine criticism Luigi Veronelli. It is worth repeating this for the awards given to Cupertinum wines!