Hiso Telaray was a young Albanian man who came to Italy to pursue his dreams and was murdered by the Sacra Corona Unita in 1999 at the age of 22. It is to him that Terre di Puglia – Libera Terra, a social cooperative founded by young people from Puglia to reclaim land confiscated from the Sacra Corona Unita, dedicates the approximately 27 hectares of vineyards seized from the mafia in the Brindisi area.

These 27 hectares of vineyards, located in Upper Salento, were recovered after years of abandonment and are now cultivated organically, with full respect for tradition, the land, and the environment.

The vineyard systems, ranging from old rows to the traditional alberello (bush-trained vines), are managed from pruning onward to maintain low yields and ensure the longevity of the vines, combining innovative techniques with the rich viticultural tradition of Salento.

The red clay soils, sea breezes, and focus on vineyard work over cellar interventions result in wines with strong, well-defined personalities that always strive for elegance and excellent drinkability—while fully enhancing the most authentic and typical features of the local grape varieties, Negroamaro first and foremost.

Renata Fonte is not only a wine—she was also a person. An assessor of the municipality of Nardò, a town in Salento, Renata Fonte was murdered by the mafia on March 31, 1984, remembered as a “martyr for the protection of her land and the courage of her ideas.” This wine, made from 100% Negroamaro grapes grown in the Santa Barbaravineyard, is dedicated to her.

The wine has an intense ruby red color, with aromas of blackberry and sour cherry, alongside tobacco, spice, and underbrush. On the palate, it opens softly, revealing a complexity that is always balanced by delicate tannins and a pleasant, persistent finish. A Negroamaro focused on elegance and drinkability, Renata Fonte embodies complexity.