Campania

Viticulture and wine making are an ancient tradition in Campania: the Greeks founded “Pitechusae” on the island of Ischia around 770 b.C. and “Cuma” on the coast in 750 b.C., introducing their own vine varietals and probably domesticating types of vines that were found in the area. Wine was quite different in those days as a number of aromatic herbs, honey and even sea water were added as preservatives and to counteract acidity. It was also used as a remedy against many ailments (for example red hot gold leaf was added to ease the suffering of lepers) and to disinfect wounds. During the Roman times, Pompei was considered the capital of wine and the wines produced in Campania the best (Falerno and Massico were the ones with the highest reputation) and served at the Roman emperors banquets. The Greeks introduced the art of pruning and, as today, there were renowned vintages, production zones and even cooperatives. Rome had a port and a market especially dedicated to wine. It is not by chance that southern Italy was also known as “Enotria” (the land of wine)! Viticulture was especially developed along the coastal zones as wine was mainly carried on ships stored in clay amphorae. The majority of the indigenous varietals that are grown nowadays in Campania date back to the Roman and Greek period, as testified by the historians of the time. Although viticulture in this region has had  mixed fortunes and many indigenous varietals were lost especially due to phylloxera and to the decline of agriculture in general, Campania is one of the areas in Italy where the greatest number of autochtonous varietals have survived. The wine produced with Greco has been celebrated throughout the centuries and the varietal was grown by the Romans with the name of “Aminea Gemella”; Aglianico (although there are various schools of thought regarding the origin of the name) is a distortion of “Hellenico” (Greek); Fiano is probably a corruption of “Apianis” (“apis” meaning bee in Latin) a grape varietal described by Pliny and Columella; Coda di Volpe (meaning fox tail due to the shape of the clusters) is mentioned by Pliny the Elder  in his “Naturalis Historia” as “Cauda Vulpium”; Falanghina may originate from “Falernina” the grape varietal from which white Falerno was made; Piedirosso is also found in the works of Pliny. Coastal viticulture, that thrived during the Roman times, was in great part abandoned, also due to the pressure of urban areas, and this explains why high quality wines are now produced in inland zones such as Irpinia or Benevento. In fact three out of four appellations that were awarded the DOCG status are in the province of Avellino (i.e. Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo), also called Irpinia after the tribe that inhabited this area 3,000 years ago (their totem was the wolf, “hirpus”). This is a hilly-mountainous area, where winters are relatively mild and summers are cool, there is ideal rainfall and ventilation making it particularly suitable for viticulture. Harvest is later here in comparison to the rest of Italy, in fact Aglianico is often picked at the beginning of November under snow. Therefore, the clusters ripen slowly and for a long time resulting in elegant and refined wines, with a strong personality and that fully express the unusual character of this territory. The estates that have been selected for our portfolio are the ones that best represent the unique and wonderful combination of knowledge and culture of this land together with  the  character of these ancient grape varietals: please try and taste all this in a glass of wine of the Taurasi, or of the Greco di Tufo or of the Lacrima Christi we offer you!