Poggio Anima Winery, and why do they put Goetic Demons and Angels on their labels.

Poggio Anima is a joint venture between Montalcino superstar Riccardo Campinoti of Le Ragnaie and his importer Vine Street Imports. The idea is pretty simple: to source the best vineyards from existing relationships and produce a real wine that conveys a place and a grape. These wines are not bulk wines, nor leftover juice from a winery, but long term contracts that we have signed with reputable growers.

Poggio Anima translates to ‘Hill of Soul.’ Going back to the concept of Poggio Anima we wanted to capture the ‘soul’ of each vineyard and grape. No manipulation, no water, sugar, etc. Just the pure expression of the fruit and site. I would argue that many wines have a ‘soul,’ but very few weeknight wines share this. Poggio Anima has come along to change this.

Simply put, Vine Street Imports founder Ronnie Sanders has a very twisted sense of humor and marketing! In all seriousness though there is an everyday dichotomy between good and bad in the world. Looking for balance in all things (including wine) is a vital quest for many. The Eastern ideaolgy of Yin Yang, is the core of this ‘balance’ in the Poggio Anima concept.

Fusing this Eastern belief with Western philosophy is apparent when you look at the contradiction of red and white (wines), good vs evil (demons vs angels) and modern ideas with old world winemaking practices (catchy, fun packaging with classic old world wine).  The names of their wines are Asmodeus, Belial, Gabriel, Samael, Lilith, and Uriel.  Their wines run for around $20 although I usually can find them at $15.