Cantine Ermes is accelerating its growth path with the signing of a multi-year agreement with Gotto d’Oro, the historic cooperative of the Castelli Romani area. The partnership was created with the aim of enhancing the production identity of the Lazio territory and relaunching on the market a brand that for more than eighty years has represented the Marino, Castelli Romani and Frascati DOC appellations.
The agreement, born from a shared vision and a common cooperative culture, provides for Gotto d’Oro to continue overseeing all production activities, while Cantine Ermes will assume the licence for the use of the brands, support the cooperative in managing relationships with its members and make its commercial know-how available.
The project will not involve any changes to the workforce at the Marino facility and marks Cantine Ermes’ entry into its eighth Italian region, with the first grape deliveries already scheduled to begin in early September.
An Agreement Built on Shared Values
The partnership takes shape through the meeting of two organisations that share a strong cooperative culture and membership in A.G.C.I. – Associazione Generale delle Cooperative Italiane.
From this common foundation comes a medium- to long-term collaboration project aimed at creating synergistic growth, enhancing the work of winegrowers and strengthening the presence of the Gotto d’Oro brand on the market.
Highlighting the significance of the agreement is Rosario Di Maria, President of Cantine Ermes, who points out that Lazio becomes the eighth region in which the cooperative will organise the harvest:
“Cantine Ermes is characterised by its multi-regional operations and its vocation to represent the Italy of wine. The dialogue with Gotto d’Oro, through the development of a shared medium- to long-term project, will allow both companies to grow in a synergistic manner. For Cantine Ermes, Lazio will be the eighth Italian region in which the current harvest will be organised, representing a further step in the cooperative’s growth journey. In fact, the first deliveries will begin as early as September. This is a commitment that we carry forward with a strong sense of responsibility towards the more than 3,000 winegrowers who believe in this project and whom I represent, and from today we are joined by the members of Gotto d’Oro. The values we share with this organisation, together with the undisputed heritage of the Gotto d’Oro brand, were decisive in finalising an agreement that I am certain will bring great satisfaction to all parties involved.”
Gotto d’Oro also views the partnership as a strategic opportunity to strengthen its market positioning.
Luca Del Gallo di Roccagiovine, President of the Lazio-based cooperative, emphasises the complementary nature of the two organisations:
“This agreement establishes a synergy between two cooperative realities that share the same values: the centrality of members, the enhancement of territory and quality. On one side we have a nationally significant cooperative winery, present with production facilities in seven Italian regions, representing a solid, organised structure capable of operating across broad and diversified markets. On the other, a Lazio cooperative winery which, while maintaining a strong connection to its territory, has successfully developed nationwide distribution, bringing its wines throughout Italy. The ultimate objective must be to build a sustainable growth path capable of enhancing the work of our winegrowers in a region where the wine world is only now beginning to fully understand its quality production potential.”
Gotto d’Oro and Cantine Ermes: Two Cooperative Histories Converge
Cantine Ermes was founded in 1998 in Santa Ninfa, in the Belìce Valley of Sicily, through the initiative of nine winegrowers determined to rebuild the economic and social fabric of an area affected by a devastating earthquake.
Today, the cooperative represents a true “Mosaic of Identities”, bringing together more than 3,000 growers, 17,000 hectares of vineyards and 16 production facilities across seven Italian regions, making it Italy’s leading first-tier cooperative in terms of cultivated vineyard area and grape deliveries.
The history of Gotto d’Oro, by contrast, dates back to 1945, when 41 winegrowers founded the Cantina Sociale Cooperativa di Marino.
Since then, the iconic wine cart of the Roman countryside has become both a symbol of identity and a distinguishing element of the brand.
Over the years, the cooperative expanded its structure and influence, eventually being recognised in 1989 as a “cooperative company of national interest.”
The agreement between Cantine Ermes and Gotto d’Oro therefore brings together two important cooperative traditions of Italian wine, united by a common commitment to growers, territory and the long-term development of their respective wine regions.
