Vine Farmer Importer Series Day 3: Two Stunning New Wines from Cantina Annesanti
Welcome to Day 3 of our Importer Series from Jace and Kaden at Vine Farmer; a hand-picked look at the growers, winemakers, and bottles that continue to inspire me most. Today, we’re excited to feature two interesting new releases from Cantina Annesanti, one of the natural wine estates in Umbria. Founded and led by Francesco Annesanti, the winery has built a devoted following for soulful, low-intervention wines that are deeply connected to their land and traditions.
Francesco farms organically, works with native fermentations, and takes a hands-off approach in the cellar, allowing each wine to express itself naturally and honestly. The result is a lineup of wines that feel vibrant, textured, and unmistakably alive.
Today’s featured wines:
2023 Cantina Annesanti “Nasciolo” Rosato
Made primarily from Barbera, “Nasciolo” is a beautifully fresh and energetic rosato that perfectly captures the spirit of Umbrian summer drinking. Pale pink in the glass, it opens with aromas of wild strawberry, citrus peel, fresh flowers, and subtle savory herbs. The palate is bright and mineral-driven, with crisp acidity and a refreshing saline finish. This is wine first, Rose second as a category. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged entirely in stainless steel, this wine is pure, vibrant, and just so completely drinkable.
2023 Cantina Annesanti “Ninfa del Nera”
“Ninfa del Nera” offers a deeper, more textured expression of the Annesanti philosophy for their whites. This is a wine for lovers of authentic natural whites— layered with tart red fruit, wild herbs, earthy minerality, and savory complexity.
I liked a lot of things about these wines. They are textural, they are low in alcohol naturally without any interventionist wine making but also fully ripe. While I was looking the area up around this farm, it seemed like there may have been more hermits and waterfalls than people, so far up in the hills they are. This is truly in the center of the Apennines, one of the last wild mountain ranges in Europe. A fully polyagricultural effort, of the 20 hectares +/-, only a few are planted to grapes.
These two wines showcase exactly why Jace and Kaden were drawn to Cantina Annesanti for the Vine Farmer portfolio: authenticity, balance, and an unmistakable sense of craftsmanship. They are wines with personality.
