AMORE E POMODORO

Don Antonio pasta sauces from the heart of Abruzzo

We’re proud to announce that we’re now the exclusive New Zealand distributor of the Don Antonio range of pasta sauces from Casina Rossa, a family producer in Italy’s Abruzzo region. Packed with flavour from hand-picked, sun-ripened tomatoes and other fresh local ingredients, these sauces are crafted from traditional family recipes. Their bold, distinctive labels and nostalgic paper caps tied with twine evoke the rustic charm of the Italian pantry.

We’re currently stocking six flavours, ranging from the indulgent Sugo al Quattro Formaggio and the fiery Sugo all’Arrabbiata to the wonderfully versatile Sugo Pizza, and every one of them reflects Casina Rossa’s simple belief that great sauces begin with great tomatoes.

So what’s the story behind Casina Rossa?

Well, it all began back in the 1960s, when Antonio De Laurentiis was growing vegetables for his family on a small farm just outside the hilltop village of Roccascalegna and its brooding medieval castle in Abruzzo.

Wild and rugged Abruzzo is one of Europe’s most ecologically intact regions, with more than a third of its land made up of national parks and other protected areas. Tumbling steeply down towards the Adriatic, farming there has always been dominated by small family holdings just like the De Laurentiis land.

In those early days, like many farmers in rural Italy, Don Antonio looked for ways to preserve his harvest so it could be enjoyed throughout the year. Tomatoes became rich sughi. Eggplants, peppers and other seasonal vegetables found their way into jars. His wife, Donna Antonia, began selling these homemade specialities at local markets, where word quickly spread.

Today, the next generation—Nicola and Paola De Laurentiis—keeps those family recipes alive under the Casina Rossa name. While the business has grown and Casina Rossa products are now enjoyed around the world, the philosophy remains remarkably unchanged: start with exceptional ingredients and interfere with them as little as possible.

That’s why the tomatoes destined for Casina Rossa’s Don Antonio sauces are harvested by hand at peak ripeness, when their balance of sweetness and acidity is exactly where it should be. They are then processed quickly to capture the freshness of the harvest, with no artificial additives to mask or replace the flavour nature has already provided.

Traditional methods are backed by internationally recognised production standards. Casina Rossa holds IFS Food and BRC Food certifications for food safety and quality management, while selected products are produced under BioAgriCert organic certification. Together, these reflect the company’s commitment to careful production, traceability and consistently high standards from field to jar.

The company motto, l’amore per la terra dà solo buoni frutti—“love for the land bears only good fruit”—captures that philosophy perfectly. It’s about respecting the rhythms of the seasons, harvesting at exactly the right moment, and preserving ingredients at their very best.

Perhaps that’s why these sauces have found devoted followers well beyond Abruzzo, appearing on tables across Europe, Japan, Australia and now New Zealand. Every jar carries something of the region it comes from—its mountain air, fertile valleys, and generations of farming knowledge distilled into beautifully simple food.

With Casina Rossa, it really is all about amore e pomodoro—a love of the land, and tomatoes picked at their very best.