Azienda Agricola Steiger-Kalena

In 2014, together with my wife Margarita, I left Paris to return to Molise, the land where I was born. We were looking for a still authentic place to raise our family and launch an agricultural project in harmony with nature. We found it in Contrada Olivoli , in the Casacalenda area, where in 2015 we began planting vineyards and building a completely underground cellar, in the heart of the vineyards.

Today, Steiger-Kalena extends over approximately 30 hectares, 12 of which are vineyards and the remainder are woods, pastures, and olive groves. We share this land with our sheep, donkeys, and horses, which are part of the balance of the farm and the landscape we want to preserve.

The vineyards are located between 300 and 350 meters above sea level, on a hill influenced by breezes from the Adriatic Sea and nearby Lake Guardalfiera . We grow Montepulciano, Aglianico, and Tintilia in 24 small plots, trained using the traditional pergola system. Each plot is tended and harvested separately, enhancing its unique soil and climate characteristics.

We work according to the principles of organic and regenerative agriculture. We use exclusively copper and sulfur to protect the vines, practice green manure, and produce compost directly on the farm using pomace, stalks, chippings from vine and olive shoots, and manure from our animals. Since 2022, we have been studying and managing our soils with the valuable collaboration of Lydia and Claude Bourguignon, who share our belief that soil fertility is the foundation of wine quality.

In the winery, each parcel is vinified separately. Fermentations are spontaneous, without the use of selected yeasts: the red wines ferment in large wooden vats, while the rosés are fermented in concrete tanks or 500-liter tonneaux. The grapes are pressed using a 1962 Champagne press, restored and still used today for its delicate characteristics. Aging takes place in concrete tanks or in 25- to 50-hectoliter oak and chestnut barrels, and each wine is bottled only when it has reached its ideal balance, followed by an appropriate period of bottle aging.

We produce three main lines of wines. Passatella , based on Tintilia , in red and rosé versions, is the first wine of each vintage and takes its name from the ancient card game still played in the bars of Casacalenda. Torre-Kalena , based on Montepulciano, also red and rosé, takes its name from the medieval tower that dominates the hillside vineyards and is made from the parcels we consider most suitable, with longer aging periods to best express the character of our terroir. And finally, the wine that bears the company's name, Steiger-Kalena , a red only wine, made from Aglianico grapes.