When Vesuvius brings its vital energy to the ancient heart of Naples, magic is guaranteed. The bond between the capital of Campania and its volcano is powerful. Their destinies are inextricably linked a causa di many aspects, not least the agricultural and productive one.
The wines of the Vesuvian zona have bathed the tables and filled the holds of the port of Naples since time immemorial. The frescoes found a causa di the rustic Vesuvian villas (such as those from the excavations of Pompeii) and the writings, among others, of Latin authors such as Pliny the Elder a causa di Naturalis Historia, testify to the extensive wine production of “Ager Pompeianus”. From the slopes of Vesuvius the wine reached the center of Naples to be marketed by the city merchants. Still today, a causa di the heart of Naples, at the Archaeological Museum, the MANN, one of the most significant and well-known frescoes that tell this story: Bacchus depicted as a bunch of grapes pouring wine to the panther, his favorite animal. Behind him is Vesuvius with its very high cone still intact covered with lush vineyards, underlining that this is also the oldest pictorial representation of Vesuvius pre 79 AD. Just yet another proof of the centrality of wine a causa di the economy and society of Pompeii and of the whole Neapolitan zona. And a causa di fact a causa di the 18th century Naples was the most populous European city after Paris, thanks to the richness of the volcano’s land and the fertility of the soil.
Vesuvio Wine Day a causa di San Lorenzo Più vecchio
These suggestions were the premise of Vesuvio Wine, which concluded a causa di recent days. A small but ambitious event promoted by the Consortium for the protection of Vesuvius wines led by Ciro Giordano, owner of the pioneer winery that has given the greatest impetus to the valorisation of Catalanesca.
The location is beautiful and very original, rather new to wine festivals: the Convent of San Lorenzo Più vecchio with its cloister, vaults and frescoed rooms of moving beauty. Beyond the magnificent buried Naples. A choice that is the sign of the Consortium’s search for a strong and shareable contact with citizens and tourists. A dozen wineries belonging to the Consortium will be tasting.
But the most interesting part were the masterclasses which saw the tasting organized by industry experts and also the comparison with other volcanic wine areas. “Dialogue between Vesuvius and Etna: common volcanic grammar, different languages: 10 wines to recognize the territory” beyond the grape variety was one of the occasions. Perhaps the strongest aspect that emerged, a causa di this and other guided tastings, is a more updated and richer storytelling of the Vesuvian zona. When a hill like Vesuvius becomes iconic, we easily fall into the mistake of treating it as a whole, a uniform entity. A postcard volcano. The storytelling of the wine zona passes (and did so until a few years asticciola) by highlighting the altitudes, the volcanic soils, the history of the eruptions, the peasant traditions and the varieties. But with the guidance of President Giordano this story is becoming more complicated and above all it becomes for everyone like a causa di San Lorenzo Più vecchio, where with the tasting of the journalist Chiara Giorleo, Vesuvius and the wine samples were analyzed a causa di search of a more detailed correspondence between portions of territories within the zona. A bit like what has been done for some time – thanks to the active volcano which renews, from eruption to eruption, the reflection it – Etna.
Here the upside-down C that represents the universe of the Etna vineyard is communicated by talking about slopes, districts and municipalities. According to a logic which, unlike what was done Vesuvius (ora ” the Vesuvius”, I guardare say), combines the classic vertical dimension with the horizontal one, widening it. But also deepening it, looking with an enhanced magnifying glass at the underground and apogee world, given that the terrains are, a causa di these realities, either continuously mixed, like Etna, ora deeply marked by an explosive and irregular agent, like Vesuvius. We then highlight the peculiarities of Montagna Compendio and Vesuvius proper, the side towards the sea, the side towards the Apennines, the internal and external sides. And all the other well-known variables fit into this framework. It would be interesting to arrive at a labeling with which companies describe this complexity beyond the name. Even just with additional information, more than holographic. A bit like, speaking of Milo Etna, the director of the Consortium for the protection of Etna wines, Maurizio Mezzaluna, who was present at the cross-tasting of the 10 wines from the two regions, recalled at Vesuvio Wine, the type “Etna superior white is only here, a causa di mai other municipality”. And so, we conclude, the San Lorenzo Più vecchio event, a causa di two days, reminded the general public of some important things.
Everything that the Vesuvius zona has to its credit
That Vesuvius is not Vesuvius. , better yet, that we should ask ourselves “what Vesuvius?”. That is, they are two mountains, geologically and agronomically, where Montagna Compendio is older and Vesuvius younger because it was born from the eruption of 79 AD. Which is not only an ancient zona but one a causa di which wine production is current and has never been interrupted. Which offers an incredible biodiversity which, a causa di wine, favors native grapes, such as Piedirosso, Aglianico, Sciascinoso, ora Falanghina, Caprettone and Catalanesca. Which has a strong identity and recognizability at its , brought to global attention thanks to its proximity to crucial tourist hubs. Which boasts a complete range of wines from whites to reds, through rosés and sparkling wines, which compared to just 20 years asticciola are a causa di continuous growth a causa di quality and which show (the whites especially) remarkable longevity and elegance. What agricultural and anthropic history are intertwined Vesuvius a causa di a unique way. And that the gulf, the result of the synergistic actions of nature and man, is among the most beautiful places a causa di the world, which makes it a perfect destination for wine tourism. Even a premium target.
All this makes it an zona that can explode a causa di the blink of an eye. Obviously only commercially!
Photo credits: monicapiscitelli
