Cristiana Tiberio’s star has for years been on a meteoric rise, but careful study and many years of patient work lie behind the evolution of her family’s estate. Tiberio was established in 2000 near the town of Cugnoli in the lesser-known Italian region of Abruzzo, inspired by an old vineyard that her father came across of super-rare, old-vine Trebbiano Abruzzese, a white grape native to the area, best known by the wine produced by cult winemaker Valentini.

These then-70-year-old vines, trained high in a double pergola to withstand the historical impact of snow during winter months, were practically dead, but she and her brother patiently coaxed them back to health over several years — without a single harvest to show for the efforts of their early years.