The vines that changed everything: Tiberio

350 meters. 60-year-old vines. One visionary family.

Some wines arrive with a single story. Tiberio arrives with a box set.

In 2000, Riccardo Tiberio — then the export manager for a well-known Abruzzo cantina — stood in a hillside plot near the small town of Cugnoli and saw something most people would have driven past: 60-year-old Trebbiano Abruzzese vines clinging to slopes at 350 meters above sea level, 23 miles from the sea. He saw potential so profound that he changed the course of his family's life. He purchased the 8-hectare plot, along with 31 additional hectares, and set about building something singular.

"Structure and minerality are the cornerstones of Cristiana's winemaking philosophy — a style shaped by training alongside some of the world's most exacting producers."

In 2008, Riccardo handed the reins to his children. His daughter Cristiana leads the winemaking; his son Antonio manages the vineyards. It's a partnership that has worked wonders. Antonio's agronomic precision in the field feeds directly into Cristiana's meticulous work in the cellar. Cristiana is a chemistry graduate who teaches college-level courses on the science of winemaking. Her education didn't stop there: she has trained with legends including Jacques Selosse in Champagne, biodynamic pioneer Nicolas Joly, and the legendary Egon Müller in the Mosel, with additional time in Chablis and Australia's Clare Valley. The through-line across all of it? Structure. Minerality. Wines that feel alive. Did we mention how well they work with our menu?

At the pinnacle of the Tiberio range sit their Cru offerings — most notably the Colle Vita Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Production is miniscule, and we are fortunate to be offered an allocation. The wines are considered among the finest made anywhere in Italy in any given year. These aren't wines to collect and forget — they're wines to open with intention, with food, with people you want to remember the evening with.

Their Colle Vita Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is on our list right now. Tiny production. Big moment.

Available now on the Stoneburner wine list.

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