Ex Vite (Latin for “from the vine”) is the first and only wine for Holy Mass produced in Puglia, born from the collaboration between Opera Seme, a civil economy project of the Caritas diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli, and Cupertinum, a historic winery in Copertino. Strictly “ex genimine vitis” (from the fruit of the vine) in accordance with the Code of Canon Law (can 924 § 3) and all ecclesiastical prescriptions on the matter. Its suitability for sacramental use is controlled and certified by the Vicar General of the Diocese of Nardò Gallipoli.
During the presentation of Ex Vite, Monsignor Fernando Tarcisio Filograna, Bishop of the Diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli, stressed the importance of collaboration and solidarity: “This wine is a particular wine, expression of a project – the one of Opera Seme, of a community – the one of the members of the winery, of a collaboration. It is a particular wine because it is transformed into the blood of Christ. Today we have to work more and more together, with a community of intentions, with cohesion. We must enhance the territories and the products derived from them”, he continued recalling how the work of the monks for many centuries has contributed to the history of wine culture, concluding: “In the Bible there are three elements: wine, olive tree and wheat. They are three main crops of our land. Noah, the first plant he planted after the flood was the vine, the vine because wine is a symbol of celebration, joy, communion”.
Don Giuseppe Venneri, head of the OperaSeme project, recalled the main points that characterize the project of civil economy of the diocesan Caritas, highlighting the work of the young people of the social cooperative, the canteens for the poor, and insisting on the importance of solidarity purchasing groups, ethical consumption, the short chain, the virtuous circuit to be created in the territory.
Giuseppe Pizzolante Leuzzi, Cupertinum’s winemaker, explained the particular processing of Ex Vite, a Rosato Salento IGT from Negroamaro grapes, produced with all the care required by the Canon Law, in the vineyard and in the cellar; he told about his and the young winemakers’ excitement in following this new adventure.
Francesco Trono, president of Cupertinum, recalled the many years of collaboration with Opera Seme, and that “Ex Vite, was born from the collaboration between Opera Seme and Cupertinum and is the first and only Wine for the Holy Mass to be produced in Puglia. It is important to start from what the territory offers in order to enhance, strengthen and reinterpret it: agricultural culture first of all. It is necessary to involve cooperative and social realities, public bodies and private citizens, to invest the areas of production, sales and training in the direction of a cultural change, for the respect of the territory”.
EX VITE can be purchased on www.operaseme.it or on FB store online or at the OperaSeme store in Nardó, Via Duomo, or by calling +39 392 6649584