About Winery and Wines
The Curto family boasts a very ancient Frankish origin. The ancestor Pietro, in the year 1030 in Gravedonia (Lake Como), was awarded the County of Omazzo, Casorate and Rosate by Emperor Corrado il Salico. Guglielmo Curti, exponent of the French branch of the family, received the cardinal's purple from Benedict XII (1334-1342), holding the position of Cardinal Camerlengo for 24 years. After moving from Trapani (Barons of the Salina di San Todaro) to Spaccaforno towards the end of the 16th century, the Curtos dedicated themselves since 1670 (deed of Notar Paolino da Spaccaforno) to the cultivation of the vine and of various other products: grapes for must, citrus fruits, almonds, olives - from which they obtain an excellent extra virgin olive oil -, organic prickly pears, cereals and open field vegetables of which, in the past, they took care of the processing and marketing both in Italy and in other European countries. At the end of the 90's the company has focused its attention, above all, in the wine sector, trying to enhance the exceptional quality of Nero d'Avola grape - Its vineyards are partly bush-trained, over 50 years old (production 35-50 quintals per hectare), and partly espalier-trained, 15/20 years old, with a production of 70 quintals per hectare. The Curto farm is located mostly in the Ispica area (south-eastern Sicily) in a very fertile area between the two provinces of Ragusa and Siracusa, rich in historical and cultural centers recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pedoclimatic conditions are those coastal ones of the central Mediterranean, therefore characterized by medium-high temperatures and low rainfall (concentrated in the autumn-winter period).
This production area is characterized by high average winter temperatures, high number of hours of sunlight (Pachino, Pozzallo and Ispica are the sunniest cities of Italy), medium texture soils tending to loose, sometimes sandy, with good nutritional elements, with good depth and freshness. Curto vineyards are partly cultivated with alberello system, more than 50 years old (production 35-50 quintals per hectare), and partly with espalier system, 15/20 years old, with a production of 70 quintals per hectare. At the end of the 90's the company has focused its attention, above all, in the wine sector, trying to enhance the exceptional quality of Nero d'Avola vine.