BETWEEN WINE AND ART

To develop the new frontier of the DUBL project, our limited-edition DUBL ESSE selections, we turned to the creative genius of Fabio Novembre. For DUBL ESSE Fabio envisioned an object in which minimalist aesthetic research and metaphysical poetry meet, following—as is customary in the designer’s mind—a dense network of references, relationships, connections, and similarities that is “a source of life and constant inspiration.” The icons of saints have “constellated his childhood and colonized his mind,” as he himself often likes to say. And it is precisely to a saint, Pope Gregory the Great, that the Feudi di San Gregorio winery is dedicated. The inspiration for the designer’s project could only come from here—from a man who as a child collected sacred images instead of Panini stickers. The papal tiara with which the saint is always depicted, also called the triregnum, captured the artist’s imagination, becoming the graphic solution of

In 2001 we launched the project to build the new winery: we wanted a one-of-a-kind space capable of combining our taste for tradition with our contemporary vocation, and that would include areas suited to excellence in winemaking as well as to telling the story of the company and its territory. We envisioned a minimal environmental impact and gardens inspired by our tradition. We wanted to dedicate a central space to the opening of the company restaurant – then called Marennà (Michelin Star since 2009) – aimed at a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Irpinian and Campanian cuisine.

Making wine is an art. That is why we love art so much. Contemporary art filters the past through the eye of today, perpetually projecting itself into the future; and this is how we want to be, this is how we envision our projects. In 2011, thanks to the help of Beatrice Bertini (Roman gallery owner, www.exelettrofonica.com), we organized a workshop with some of the most promising contemporary artists from Campania.

Marinella Senatore has created for Feudi di San Gregorio a collection of watercolors, painted with a play of light and shadow, depicting the construction of the new winery, from the excavations to the building, alongside the passing of the seasons that accompanied the project, and showing the

In 2013, we entrusted maestro Mimmo Jodice with the task of telling the story of the soul of Feudi di San Gregorio, through his eyes and his lens, creating a permanent artistic installation inside the winery.

In 2022, Pietro Ruffo was involved in creating a work dedicated to the winery: “Il Canto della Terra,” a site-specific piece that enriches the winery’s art collection. The artist chose to portray the cycle of wine’s life on the surface of an amphora—a vessel used since ancient times for wine aging. The narrative of the winery’s operations thus merges with the community that brings it to life and the territory that hosts it, Irpinia, a cradle of enogastronomic wisdom and culture.

“A Portrait of Dionysus” is the title of the work created by the two artists, which brings the entire façade of the Dimora Botanica inside Borgo San Gregorio to life. The artistic project continues inside the structure, welcoming visitors with a highly colorful wallpaper inspired by a visionary world of flowers, colors, and fruits representing Irpinia. The Californian duo signs this artistic project with their signature colorful and baroque approach, including a tribute to the God of wine and pleasure in the north-west corner of the building.

The strong motivation that drives Marco and Pierpaolo in their “works” is to preserve the richness of territories like Irpinia and protect this unique ampelographic heritage by reproducing them in our new plantings. For over 15 years, Simonit&Sirch have been collaborating with Prof. Scienza from the University of Milan on research, genetic study, and reproduction of old vines (from 70/80 to over 200 years old) that still populate Irpinia: a patient and in-depth study that teaches us to look back in order to build the future. This is how Serpico was born – which