A bottle of wine can tell you a lot about a place, especially when the people making it are closely connected to the land and community around them. In Alanno, a small village in Abruzzo, wine is part of the fabric of everyday life, alongside olive groves, family farms, and traditions that bring the village together. Tocco is very much a product of this place.

Enisio Tocco founded the winery in 1981, and his sons Lorenzo and Danilo grew up helping him. After studying and gaining professional experience in Italy and abroad, the brothers returned home to Alanno in 2014, bringing new ideas and expertise to the foundation their father had built over decades.

Today, the family farms 34 hectares across Alanno, Cugnoli, and Pietranico, with 20 hectares under vine and the remainder planted with olive trees. The vineyards are planted primarily to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, alongside Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and Pecorino, with sites ranging from 120 to 350 meters above sea level. Clay and clay-loam soils, varied exposures, and vineyards of different ages contribute to the character of the wines.

The family’s approach is grounded in the belief that good wine begins in the vineyard. They harvest only healthy, fully ripe grapes and prioritize manual work in both the vineyard and cellar, adapting their approach to each vintage rather than imposing a fixed formula. Since 2014, the entire estate has been certified organic, reflecting their commitment to the surrounding ecosystem and to preserving the character of their grapes. The aim is to make authentic wines that express their origins, with a distinctive identity shaped by the land.

As the winery has grown under Lorenzo and Danilo, so too has the need for space to bring their ideas to life. Their new facility was completed just in time for the 2026 harvest, giving the brothers more room to craft their wines with precision and welcome the community that has always been central to the estate.

Every October, Alanno celebrates its annual Grape Festival, a tradition dating back to the early 1900s. Parades, dancing, and traditional grape stomping bring the village to life, while the winery opens its doors for tastings and harvest celebrations. It is a reminder of just how deeply wine is woven into the rhythms of everyday life here.

That connection to the community also runs through Tocco’s Capostazione wines, named for the village’s beloved station master. For 50 years, he was the person everyone turned to for help, whether selling train tickets, directing trains, managing railway crossings, or tending the station’s flowerbeds. His reputation gave rise to the local expression “Mi sembri il capostazione di Alanno,” used to describe someone who tries to do a little bit of everything. It is a fitting namesake for a family winery devoted to working for its land and community.

For Lorenzo and Danilo, the goal is not simply to make wine, but to bottle a little of Alanno itself. Open one at your table, and you might just feel like you’re there.