Azienda Vinicola Rivera

Azienda Vinicola Rivera is wine producer in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Sebastiano de Corato founded the estate in the 1940s and today it is still owned and run by the de Corato family. Rivera is best known for its Castel del Monte wines, but it also makes a range of Locorotondo, Moscato di Trani, Salice Salentino, Puglia IGT and Salento IGT wines.

The estate consists of 75 hectares (185 acres) of vineyards planted over two distinct terroirs. The Rivera, Torre di Bocca and Coppa vineyards sit atop tufa-limestone soils planted to indigenous Puglian grape varieties. The Lama di Corvo vineyard, in contrast, is planted on rocky, limestone-rich soils at a higher altitude. Rivera farms these vineyards according to sustainable agricultural practices.

Rivera's portfolio of Castel del Monte wines is largely composed of varietal wines made from red grape varieties like Uva di Troia, Aglianico and Bombino Nero, and white varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Bombino Bianco. The lesser-known Pampanuto grape variety also makes an appearance in the estate's Castel del Monte bianco wine.

The modern winery is fitted with stainless steel fermenters, while below ground in the wine cellar there are more than 400 French oak barriques, as well as a mixture of French oak and Slavonian oak casks. Solar panels have been installed to increase energy efficiency at the estate and they now supply a significant proportion of the winery's energy needs.