Ettore Galasso
Ettore Galasso
Glug Staff
Photography: Ettore Galasso
Wednesday 03 January 2024
This article is from
Abruzzo
issue 31
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The Galasso family’s roots are in Trentino, in the North-East of Italy; it only moved to Abruzzo at the end of the 17th century, which by the standards of Italian families makes them relatively recent arrivals. Once settled, the family bought a great deal of land, which they turned over to the production of olives, grapes and other fruit, eventually becoming one of the first producers to sell the ‘made in Italy’ brand internationally.
During the 1970s, Ettore Galasso—the winery’s eponymous founder and CEO—took over most of the family land, totalling 350 hectares, from the Apennines to the Adriatic sea. He established his own cellar in 1999, in the famed wine municipality of Loreto Aprutino, with the desire to offer a product “as sincere and generous as its land of origin, Abruzzo”, which he characterised as “an open air bio laboratory, characterised by a climate and a hilly surface perfect for viticulture”.
The vineyard, with Gran Sasso in the background
Today, Ettore runs the business alongside his eldest and youngest daughters, Stefania and Giulia, while the winemaking itself is the domain of noted oenologist, Loriano Di Sabatino.
Together, this team has created one of the largest privately-owned wineries in the region, whose diverse vineyard locations allow it to create a truly impressive variety of styles for domestic and international markets. While production remains primarily focused on indigenous varietals, such as Montepulciano, Trebbiano, and Pecorino, the winery has in the past 15 years also started cultivating Primitivo, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Nero, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
As a relatively large agricultural operation, Ettore Galasso is also very sensitive to the environment and the related impact of its production. For this reason, the company decided to invest in green energy to cut its carbon footprint, and today, all Galasso productioan is proudly made with green and renewable energy, thanks to a 130-kw photovoltaic system. The company also recycles all the plastic and cardboard deriving from the production process, and even winemaking waste, such as lees, are re-used for other industrial purposes.
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