Caggiano

The estate established was by Antonio Caggiano with the help of Professor Luigi Moio, who is one of the major experts on Aglianico. Antonio is also a professional and very talented photographer. Antonio used to have a building enterprise and he decided to build a cellar, in 1990, that was supposed to amaze. The company logo is represented by a set of stones that are kept in balance. It has a double meaning: the construction type of the cellar which was largely built with large bulkers, and the balance of wine between sweet, bitter, acidity and saltiness. The cellar, which is hewn in rock and built underground, is really amazing and was completed in 1995. In the meantime vineyards from the finest crus were bought and plots of land were purchased and planted with selected clones of Aglianico. The new part of the cellar with very modern equipment was designed by Pino and Lorella, both architects and son and daughter of Antonio, and was completed in 2008. Pino, who has a real passion for wine, is now at the helm with the support of Antonio. The estate could potentially produce one million bottles/year, but Antonio and Pino have chosen to keep production at 150,000-160,000 bottles/year. The total vineyard extension is 26 hectares, 23 hectares of Aglianico and 3 hectares of Fiano. The vineyards of Aglianico are all in Contrada Sala. The zone of Contrada Sala is airy, the altitude is 350-450 meters above sea level. The exposure is south-west. The great Aglianico grape finds ideal conditions here. The Fiano vineyards are in Lapio. Vineyards of Greco (located in Tufo) and vineyards of Falanghina (in the area of Benevento) are contracted. Disease and pest control is carried out following a programme of the Campania region for the respect of the environment and for the care of vines. There still are a few prephylloxera vines. The age of the vines varies from 10-15-30-40 years. Over the years the hectares of vineyards were increased by carefully studying the characteristics of this zone. The wines produced are: Taurasi DOCG “Vigna Macchia dei Goti”, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC “Salae Domini”, Irpinia Aglianico DOC “Tarì”, Fiano di Avellino DOCG “Béchar”, Greco di Tufo DOCG “Devon”, Irpinia Bianco DOC “Fiagre”, Campania Falanghina IGT, Passito VDT “Mel”. “We are not interested in quantity, but in quality” Antonio Caggiano tells us. “Micro per macro. One must read how much work, suffering and love are in a glass of wine”.