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The roots of the de Corato family are firmly rooted in the land of Apulia, in the countryside of Andria, on the plateau separating the Murgia hills and the Adriatic Sea, where Giuseppe, patriarch of the family born in the mid-19th century, was a farmer with great entrepreneurial qualities. In 1921 he bought, turning it into a model vine and olive growing farm, the vast estate that had belonged for centuries to the Rivera noble family from Abruzzo, whose founder was a captain of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, who donated them to him.
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It was in the historic cellars of the estate that Sebastiano de Corato, the youngest and most visionary of Giuseppe’s sons, founded Rivera winery in the late 1940s, realizing the great winemaking potential of the hilly area dominated by the enigmatic Castel del Monte, masterpiece of Frederick II and a landmark of the region. His ambition to create a label that would represent Puglia in the wine firmament and his tenacity were soon rewarded, making Rivera the emblem of the region’s enology and an indisputable driver of its resurgence.
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In the 1970s, Sebastiano’s son Carlo was the architect of experiments in the vineyards and modernizations in the winery that led to the development of innovative wines in the regional wine scene. Under his watch, sons Sebastiano and Marco, representing the fourth generation, today continue with commitment and pride a success story that has lasted more than a century and has made Rivera wines ambassadors of Puglia in markets around the world.