Castel de Paolis

In the volcanic hills just south of Rome, where Roman emperors once escaped the summer heat, Castel de Paolis is quietly redefining the wines of the Castelli Romani.

The story began in 1974, when Giulio Santarelli started acquiring vineyards around Grottaferrata. Like most growers in the area, he first sold his grapes to local cooperatives. But Giulio believed this ancient land could produce far more than the simple, bulk Frascati it had become known for. In 1985 he began working with Professor Attilio Scienza of the University of Milan, one of Italy’s leading viticulture experts, to study which native and international varieties thrived best in these soils. Over the following years the family replanted the estate, and in 1992 they completed their own winery.

Today, Fabrizio Santarelli and his family farm sustainably on south-east-facing slopes of volcanic tufa and pozzolana. These mineral-rich soils give the wines their savory, saline character. Their Frascati Superiore, led by Malvasia del Lazio, is a benchmark for the appellation: aromatic, textured and unmistakably Roman. Alongside it, the estate makes distinctive reds and whites that show the full potential of the Castelli Romani.

Castel de Paolis has earned the region’s highest honors, including Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri, and is widely considered one of the producers that brought Frascati back to the world stage.