May Institute – Where Hope and Possibility Blossom Spring Cocktail Reception April 6th – Fundraiser

On April 6th May Institute is hosting a fundraiser at The Harvard Club at One Federal Street, Boston, MA. May Institute is an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides educational, rehabilitative, and behavioral healthcare services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, brain injury, and behavioral health needs. May Institute also provides training and consultation services to professionals, organizations, and public school systems. I have been associated with May Institute for over 30 years. Over the past 30 years May Institute has expanded from its original purpose of the provision of autism services to the provision of services with individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs. In addition May Institute has developed special programs for brain injured children. May Institute provides consultation to over 200 school systems and autism spectrum disorder services for military families.

We have made a donation of five premier aglianico based wines as an auction item. We have selected five of our favorite wines from three wine areas: Vulture, Irpinia and Cilento. Below is a description of the wines. We hope that you can attend the fundraiser event. Here is May Institute web page: http://www.mayinstitute.org

2011 Rotondo Aglianico del Vulture DOC

Azienda Vinicola Paternoster – http://www.paternostervini.it/contenuti/contenuto.jsf?contenutoId=1

Paternoster winery, located in Barile, Potenza, Basilicata, was the first to bottle Aglianico del Vulture.  The winery celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. This historic winery abides by

sustainable viticulture, but only has one of its four Aglianico del Vulture wines certified as organic.  The owner, Vito Paternoster, explained to us during our visit that the three wines that are not certified  had been bottled for many years before organic certification was available. The winery did not want to disrupt the market for these three wines by suddenly classifying them as organic.  All the grapes, irrespective of whether they are certified organic, are treated the same both in the vineyard and during production.  Paternoster’s Rotondo is an award-winning wine; receiving the Gambero Rosso’s highest rating of Tre Bicchieri on several occasions.

2004 Taurasi DOCG Riserva

Azienda Agricola Perillo

Michele Perillo’s winery, located in Castelfranci, Avellino, Campania, began bottling wine  from grapes grown in his family’s vineyard in 1999; the wine was available for sale in 2003. Prior to 1999 Michele and his family sold their grapes to Northern Italian wine makers that used the aglianico grape to strengthen and darken wines. The first bottling consisted of only 2,140 bottles. Although still a small producer, Michele has expanded his annual production to approximately 20,000 bottles. He has a strong international following as about 80% of his wines are sold abroad. Michele’s cantina is a garage with no formal tasting area. Michele does not attend many wine tastings but is welcoming to visitors; we have visited with him and his family on three occasions. His flagship Taurasi Riserva is highly acclaimed and receives many awards, including the Tre Biccheri award.

2006 Vigne Cinque Querce Taurasi DOCG Riserva

Azienda Vitivinicola Salvatore Molettieri – http://www.salvatoremolettieri.com

Salvatore Molettieri has spent much of his life in the family owned vineyard. In 1983 Salvatore decided to stop selling his family grapes and produce his own wine; at first in large containers for consumption by locals.  After receiving several awards for his “jug wine” Salvatore in 1988 had his first bottling of 7,225 bottles which were available for sale in 1995. Now Salvatore and his four sons, Giovanni, Guiseppe, Luigi, and Paolo produce about

70,000 bottles per year. The cantina, which is located in Montemarano, Avellino, Campania, is a large nondescript warehouse that features a large, comfortable tasting area; over the years we have enjoyed four tastings with Salvatore and his family. His wines are noted for their intensity and high alcohol content. The wines achieve these traits in part due to a late harvest (the first or second week of November), higher elevation of the vineyard and Salvatore’s method of aging wine. His flagship Taurasi, Vigna Cinque Querce Riserva, has received many awards over the years, including multiple Tre Bicchieri.

2010 Matertera Irpinia Aglianico DOC

Cantina Bambinuto – http://www.cantinabambinuto.com

Bambinuto is located in Santa Paolina, Avellino, Campania, an area known for excellent Greco di Tufo wines. Marilena Aufiero, the owner of Bambinuto produces an excellent Greco

di Tufo in addition to the aglianinco based Matertera.  Marilena’s father started Bambinuto in 2006. In 2009 Marilena gave up a career in law and joined her father to become a wine maker. Bambinuto has increased its production from the first vintage in 2007 of 7,000 bottles to the current production of approximately 22,000 bottles. Matertera is classified as an Irpinia Aglianico DOC; Irpinia Aglianico age less than Taurasi, and tend to be not as intense as Taurasi. Marilena’s cantina is small, similar to Michele Perillo’s “garage cantina” with the exception that there is a small comfortable showroom/tasting area; which we have visited on three occasions. Bambinuto is her mother’s family nickname, which in dialect means “good wind” or in proper Italian “benevento”.

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2010 Cenito Cilento Aglianico DOC

Azienda Agricola Luigi Maffini – http://www.maffini-vini.com

When we visited Luigi in 2014 his  cantina was located in Castellabate, Salerno, Campania. Luigi has since moved his headquarters to his other estate located in Giungano, also in the Province of Salerno. His wine making process and wines are certified organic. In 1970 Luigi’s grandfather bought the vineyard. In 1974 and for the next twenty years the Maffini family sold their grapes; like the Perillo and Molettieri families.  Also, like many other Southern Italian wineries, the Maffini family originally cultivated northern grapes such as trebbiano and sangiovese along with the indigenous aglianico grape. Today Luigi cultivates only indigenous grapes. Luigi noted that the soil of the Cilento wine region has little volcanic influence when

compared to wine growing areas in Irpinia/Avellino and Vulture, where the plant roots do not have to grow as deep to reach the richness in the soil as they do in Cilento. Despite the difference, aglianico based wines in Cliento such as Luigi’s Cenito are of high quality like Irpinia and Vulture aglianico based wines.