In the lands of Apulia, between the East and West, the Turkish raids were frequent and bloody. It is said that in one particularly fatal year for plundering and raids, the lord of Leverano had tried and failed to defend the village with military strategies, but was met with other attacks and the population was worn out....

One night under the crescent moon, a series of Saracen warriors appeared on the horizon, huge men with tobacco skin. Men and women huddled together in their icy beds, resigned to death. They waited, but the Saracen’s scimitars did not fall on them. When they went down to their kitchens at dawn, they found the remains of a sumptuous feast and no trace of the enemy. Rumour spread through the astounded village that the warriors from the war mission were protective house elves distracted by gluttony PROTECTIVE HOUSE ELVES DISTRACTED THE WARRIORS BY GLUTTONY FROM THE WAR MISSION. Still today, on certain winter evenings, before retiring Leverano families leave a piece of bread and a glass of wine on the table. If the children ask why, the adults will tell them “It’s for the Saracens”. The wines of the Saraceno Estate, affable and sunny, are imbued with the echo of this legend.