Mariella Caputo

«There’s no such thing like half measures: you either love working in a restaurant, or you hate it». Determination is one of the brightest gifts for Mariella Caputo, born in 1967, sommelier and patron with her chef-brother Alfonso at Taverna del Capitano, a delicious and elegant restaurant with a Michelin star on the beach of Marina del Cantone in Massa Lubrense (Na).

In the delightful peninsula between the Gulf of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno, what with the aromas of Sorrento and the charm of Positano, Mariella grew up in the Seventies in the restaurant run by her father Salvatore, aka “Capitano” since he was an ex-official on Italian ships after attending the Istituto Nautico in Piano di Sorrento. It was the Capitano who passed to his first-born his interest in wine, so much so that she started to train as a sommelier when she was only 18.

«After the scientific lyceum, I enrolled in Business and Economics and studied piano for 10 years; I almost hated the restaurant because it kept my parents away from me». First female sommelier in Campania and a finalist in the Primo sommelier d’Italia contest in 1994, Mariella Caputo makes a virtue of her deep understanding of wine, her elegance, smiling disposition and sense of measure. She believes humility, memory and culture are essential whit clients.

She approaches wine with her mind, with her palate and with her heart, because wine is alive: «It’s the result of the work of man and of nature, a small miracle that requires the greatest respect». Passionate about beautiful things, hospitality, and love: at Taverna del Capitano, Mariella presents wine. And turns the sound of the waves into magic.