A few miles inland from Pescara, but still within sight of the sea and amid the largest olive-oil production area in Italy, the hill town of Loreto Aprutino presents a classic Italian skyline of campaniles and sloped roofs. The Valentini winery sits right next to the manicured Castello Chiola at the town's highest point. (The castle now houses an upscale hotel.) On a frigid day in February, with snow on the ground, there was no one up there, and there were certainly no wine tourists at the Azienda Valentini. To the door of its elegant premises — quite anonymous and with none of the gimmicky signage that winemakers now adore — came a tall squire in crumpled corduroys: 46-year-old Francesco Valentini, who has been running the winery since the death of his father, Edoardo, in April 2006 at the age of 72. Francesco speaks no English, though there is an air of quiet cosmopolitan sophistication about him. And he seemed quite amused that anyone would drive out here from Rome on such a cold morning.
