Iovine

The members of the Iovine family have been viticulturists and have produced wine for four generations since 1890. They own vineyards in the Sorrento Peninsula, in Irpinia and in the zone of Benevento, but they also supervise the vineyards of growers with whom they have worked for many years. Especially in the area of the Sorrento Peninsula property is extremely fragmented (some vineyards extend for barely 1 hectare) it is therefore a condicio sine qua non to buy grapes. The wines of the Sorrento Peninsula are unique and made from a unique zone: the soil is volcanic (made up of deposits of ashes and pyroclastic material from millennia of volcanic eruptions), the vineyards are steep with a gradient of up to 45% and stand on terraces with a width between 10 and 1.5 meters. The training system is mainly Pergola Sorrentina, a traditional method which is an integral part of this wonderful landscape. The vineyards can only be worked, in the best of cases, with motorhoes and with small tractors, in the most difficult cases, completely by hand. The harvest is carried out with mules. Needless to say, natural viticulture is pursued and only copper and sulphur base products are sprayed. Another unique feature is that the vines are ungrafted and therefore exclusively Vitis Vinifera Europea, as phylloxera does not survive in these soils. Each parcel has a little nursery, where the vines with the best characteristics are propagated by offshoots (called calatoie in the local dialect). The wines are Penisola Sorrentina DOC and made in the Gragnano and Lettere subzones, three of the wines are sparkling. The wines of this area are ancient: they were very much appreciated by the Romans who had numerous country villas where wine was made and also shipped and later the popes used to drink these wines especially in the summer. These wines can be defined petit vins, they are not wines to be matched with roasts nor they are to be aged, but they are a good match with pizza and, although they are red, also with fish and vegetable dishes. Our selection also offers the wines from the Irpinia and Benevento areas.