Our story
We opened our restaurant Bottega Caruso back in 2018 in Margate, and our deli/wine bar next door in June 2024.
The idea has always been to bring wonderful produce from our family and friends back in Campania and share it here in the UK. We’ve been importing various foodstuffs from our family and friends since then.
But wine… You’re sat in a vineyard up a mountain, sipping the most remarkable wine you’ve ever tried, the winemaker showing you the grapes and barrels and telling you how he left his old life behind 30 years ago to just make this one bottle of perfect wine, in perfect harmony with nature and and the moon and the stars. You want to buy it all, bring it back and show it to everyone, try somehow to share that magical moment.
Well it’s been quite the journey, but now we’re doing it. Importing wonderful wines from four (to begin with) wonderful wineries. Wines that we’ve drank in the fields and fallen in love with.
Our wine bar
Situated in Margate, next door to our restaurant Bottega Caruso, our wine bar and deli Cantina Caruso is a neighbourhood hang out, a place to try a wide variety of natural wines by the glass, or take a bottle to the beach.
We sell fresh pasta and lots of other Italian specialities.
We teach pasta making and fermenting workshops and host lots of events, dinners and talks.
The winemakers
Robb de Matt
In the mountain village of Foglianise, friends Gabriele Calabrese and Gaetano Palumbo are making natural wine with a punk spirit and an open heart. Robb de Matt means “crazy stuff” in dialect – and that spirit lives in every bottle they produce. Breaking with tradition, at Robb de Matt, nothing is rushed and nothing is manipulated. Hand-harvested, mixed-variety grapes ferment spontaneously in open vats with no temperature control, no additives, no filtration, and no sulfur. Their small plots on Monte Taburno are farmed traditionally and each bottle is a defiant celebration of nature’s own rhythms and imperfections. Personal, anarchic, and unrepeatable, these wines represent the people who grew up on this land and continue to cultivate it.
Podere Veneri Vecchio
One of the original natural winemakers in Campania, Raffaello Annichiarico tends his 4-hectare vineyard like a living ecosystem. A microbiologist by training, he fell in love with this land in 1999 and has since become a quiet pioneer of truly natural winemaking in the region.Tucked into the clay and tuff soils of Castelvenere, he works with ancient, mixed-variety vines and forgotten native grapes, crafting deeply expressive wines with no filtration or chemical interference. His cellar, with its origins dating back over a century, is a tribute to the land, as are his wines: raw, soulful and full of life. Already popular across Europe, this will be his debut to the UK.
Click here to see the full range of wines and email us at info@bottegacaruso.com for a trade pricelist or any other questions
Co-op Lentamente
In the hills of Sannio, near Benevento, Donato De Marco and his cooperativa Lentamente are redefining what agriculture can mean – not just a source of food, but a tool for justice, dignity, and social change. After years in social agriculture, Donato returned home to found Lentamente, a deeply rooted project that cultivates organic grains, wine, honey, and olives while offering real opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Their vineyards and fields are tended not just with care, but with purpose: to transform lives, restore abandoned land, and build a resilient, inclusive rural community. Made with minimal intervention, every bottle from Lentamente tells a story of regeneration - of people, land and hope.
Azienda Agricola Pizzillo
In the heart of Irpinia, Emanuele Pizzillo is building a life rooted in legacy, nature, and community. From his grandfather’s olive trees and a few old vineyard rows, he’s grown a small farm into a vibrant project producing soulful olive oil and natural wines that celebrate the land and bring people together. Every bottle is cultivated with care – no shortcuts, no waste – just deep respect for the earth and a belief that food and wine can nourish more than just the body. Emanuele’s work is a quiet revolution in sustainability and connection, guided by tradition, powered by collaboration, and always looking forward
