During our many trips to Southern Italy we have visited over 40 wineries; most family operated that abide by sustainable viticulture. Unfortunately not all these wineries have their wines available for purchase in the United States. I am able to bring home some of these wines and by this post I hope to encourage readers to ask wine stores, distributors and importers to consider selling, distributing or importing these wines. Here are some of my favorite, hopefully soon to be imported, wines from Southern Italy.
Terre di Sylva Mala
After navigating the rough terrain of the Mt. Vesuvio National Park (thank you Gaetano!) we reached Terre di Sylva Mala. We met Euclide Servodidio, son-in-law of the original owner and husband of one of the three daughters who own the winery, and Francesco Buonomo, the winemaker. We also met Euclide’s father-in-law, Francesco, and Francesco’s friend Nicola. Euclide, who originates from a village in the Irpinia area near Gaetano’s home town of Montemiletto, is a most enthusiastic person while Francesco is more reserved but as equally passionate about Terre di Sylva Mala’s products. The two make an engaging duo.
The farm first produced grapes in 1999 and its first label was 2004. The vineyard is located 380 meters above sea level in protected national park lands. Due to the proximity to Mt. Vesuvio the soil has more minerality than the soil of Salerno. The farm is organic. It is Euclide and Francesco’s belief that wineries that produce more than 50,000 bottles per year have difficulty remaining organic.
Terre di Sylva Mala cultivates the piedirosso grape; not the aglianico grape. Per Francesco piedirosso is the traditional grape of the Campania Region dating to the days of Pompeii. The winery does not use wood barrels for aging; the thought is wines would be less pure as the oak flavor would overwhelm the piedirosso wine juice.
Terre di Sylva Mala consists of six hectares of land of which 5.8 hectares are used for the production of grapes. The winery uses about 55% of grapes picked for the production of wine. Terre di Sylva Mala does not buy grapes from other wineries and made it clear that they never would.
We tasted sevcral wines; the first one, Cerasella Vesuviana, was a crisp light Rose. The vinification is done with minimal contact of skin with juice; only five hours of contact. In the past there was longer contact with skins and the juice but the result was too much color due to the dark piedirosso grape. Next we tasted Faurno Bianco, a 100% coda di volpe based wine. Francesco said that this grape is also referred to as the caprettone grape. The wine had a yellowish, slight green color. The green is attributed to chlorophyll. Francesco described the coda di volpe as a neutral grape. Faurno Bianco has a strong mineral taste to it and per Francesco can last up to six to seven years. Next we tried the winery’s pride and joy – Fruscio di Ginestra. The word fruscio in English means “the whoosh of the wind”. This coda di volpe based wine is blended with falaghina grapes (20%) which adds aroma. The juice is not filtered at any part of the process; hence, the color of the wine is greener than Faurno Bianco. Fruscio di Ginestra is a flavorful white wine that can last up to ten years. Lastly, we tasted Terre di Sylva Mala’s piedirosso based wine. It is a peppery, spicy red. Francesco and Euclide equated this wine to Cote de Rhone wines.
Verrone
We met Paolo Verrone at an overlook at which we observed a panoramic view of his family’s 13 hectare vineyard. His grandfather purchased the estate while Paolo’s father was an executive with the Bank of
Napoli. Paolo’s grandfather did not produce wine, but Paolo’s father did despite a business schedule that required travel during the week. But, Paolo’s father returned to the estate every week end to work at the vineyard.
We traveled on a bumpy narrow road to gain access to the estate. Paolo and his brother Massimo provided us a tour of their vineyard. At the high point of the vineyard there were old plants but with “new” vines of aglianico and fiano grapes. Their father originally planted primitivo, barbera and other non-indigenous grapes; a practice that we have found to have been common in the Salerno Province. Interspersed among the winemaking grapes there were several variety of eating grapes, similar to what we experienced at other vineyards. Prior to the estate’s first bottling, Verrone sold grapes to local winemakers. Verrone now produces 30,000 bottles, but with the size of its vineyard Verrone could produce 200,000 bottles. Since they do not have demand to produce more wine, Verrone continues the practice of selling grapes to local winemakers.
Paolo and Massimo explained a unique feature of their vineyard. Due to the proximity to the sea, which is visible from their vineyard, there is a constant breeze that impacts the viticulture. The breeze lessens the moisture and infuses the grapes with Mediterranean salt.
We enjoyed a tasting on their outside terrace. We first had Verrone’s fiano followed by what they referred to as their “strange” rose – it is a 100% aglianico based wine but vinified like a fiano. It has an orange color. Next we had several exceptional quality aglianico based wines. The first was the 2012 vintage which is aged 7 to 9 months in stainless steel; no aging in oak barrels, and aged 10 to 12 months in the bottle before release.
Next we had Verrone’s ten year anniversary wine which is a blend of aged aglianico juice with current aglianico juice (10%/90%, respectively). Only 600 bottles of the special anniversary wine have been produced. Next we tasted the 2003 Verrone Riserva (note the label does not include the word Riserva because the Riserva status was not recognized until 2004) which is made from the grapes from the old vines on the top of the hill in their vineyard.
Salvatore Magnoni
The Magnoni family has owned the estate in Rutino, Salerno for over 500 years. In the 1700’s a family member, a priest, served as a consultant to Joseph of Austria who then named him a count, giving the Magnoni family nobility status. Salvatore indicated both pride and amusement telling this family history. Salvatore’s grandfather immigrated to the USA, where his father was born, but the family returned to the estate in Rutino. Both his father and grandfather were physicians, but Salvatore took a different career path. He sold records and was a DJ in Naples for 25 years. In 2002 he made a career change and decided to harvest the vineyard in Rutino and make wine for commercial market. First. he had to replace the barbera and sangiovese grapes with the aglianico grape. Also, he planted olive oil trees. In 2008 Salvatore had first vintage available to the public.
Salvatore is an ardent follower of organic viticulture. He does not add sulfites to the wine. We tasted his 2013 Rosso del Ciglio, which ages one year in barrique oak barrel. This wine features red fruit and has a tingling sensation when contrasted with the second wine we tasted, Primalaterra. This elegant wine has hints of cherry and has a long, smooth finish. Rosso del Ciglio is a “wild” wine when compared to the regal Primalaterra.
During the tasting we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of local goat cheese and dried sausage, bread with Salvatore’s olive oil, zucchini quiche, escarole pie, and fusilli with tomato — an unexpected treat from a generous and welcoming host.
Colli Cerentino
Sandro Calabrese started Colli Cerentino in 2002 with his first bottling in 2003. Sandro’s wines are organically produced. Colli Cerentino, with an anuual production of about 40,000 bottles, is one of the
smaller wineries in the Aglianico del Vulture area. Its vineyards are located in the nearby town of Maschito. We had a tour of his production area located in Rionero in Vulture; followed by a wine tasting with soppressata, cheese, and bread. The first of four aglianico wines tasted, Aglianico dei Colli, is aged in both stainless tanks (80%) and French barrique (20%) for two years and one year in bottle before its release. The second wine tasted, Cerentino, is aged in both first passage French barrique (80% and first passage means the barrique was used in one previous harvest) and new French barrique (20%) for two years and eighteen months in bottle before its release. Next we tasted Sandro’s flagship wine, Masqito. This wine is aged for two years in both new French barrique (80%) and first passage French barrique (20%) and two years in bottle before its release. We culminated the tasting with Sandro’s award winning Masqito Gold 2006. Only 4,000 bottles were produced. This wine was awarded a Gold Medal for Excellance at 2013 Vin Italy. Masqito Gold was aged for 36 months in French barrique and two years in bottle for its release.
