Fortunately, today we are more and more careful about how we eat and drink. We buy organic because it respects the environment and our health. Organic wineries are enjoying enormous success. In addition to the benefits for nature and our well-being, there are some truly outstanding bottles you should add to your collection. Here for you is a selection of 3 Organic Wineries in Southern Italy that produce high quality wines.
Organic wineries in Southern Italy: my personal selection
Sergio Arcuri’s organic artisan wines – Calabria
On the Ionian coast of Calabria, in the small town of Cirò Marina, lie the vineyards of Sergio Arcuri. This historic winery has been producing organic and artisanal wine for more than four generations. From the vineyard to the bottle, every step of the production respects the land and follows ancient techniques handed down from father to son.
The main grape of the area is Gaglioppo, a red variety typical of the region. Thanks to the arid, warm and windy climate, the grapes accumulate a high sugar content. As a result, the wines are rich and full-bodied.
The Sergio Arcuri winery cultivates pure Gaglioppo according to the dictates of organic farming: chemical-free soil, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no use of exogenous substances. For vinification and ageing, Sergio uses open cement tanks called palmenti.
What wine to buy
The Sergio Arcuri winery produces two Cirò Rosso, a Riserva and a Base. These are spicy, authentic red wines that tell of the love and respect for this land. If you want to taste Calabria and the pure flavour of the Ionian sea, these are the ideal wines for you.
The Ancient Vineyards on Etna by Girolamo Russo – Sicily
The slopes of Etna offer a fabulous terroir for organic wines. The northern slope of the volcano is home to the ancient bush-trained vines of the Girolamo Russo organic winery. Over a hundred-year-old rows of vines combines with new ones treated with traditional farming techniques. All the work – pruning, ploughing, hoeing, tying, use of sulphur and copper and then harvesting – is done by hand. This care and extreme respect for nature reflects in wines which are rich in fragrance, colour and balance between minerality and complexity.
What wine to buy
Not to be missed is the Etna Rosso DOC ‘A Rina, a soft and structured wine, enveloping and complex, aged in second and third passage barriques for 12 months. Elegant notes of ripe red fruit, cherries, leather and tobacco best express the terroir of the great Sicilian mountains. Also very good is the Etna Bianco Nerina, which blends typical minerality with marine and citrus scents.
The organic and poetic wines of Luigi Tecce – Campania
Luigi Tecce’s winery is located in contrada Trinità in Paternopoli, in the Taurasi DOCG area. Luigi represents the fourth generation of a family of winegrowers. Today, the old family vineyards cover a few small plots in Paternopoli, one of the most interesting Taurasi areas.
The soils are south-facing and lie between 500 and 600 metres above sea level: this allows the grapes to ripen perfectly.
Luigi is a counter-cultural character, who rejects the use of any technology and uses few oenological tools. His harvest always lasts much longer than that of other winegrowers in the area, as he picks the grapes one by one, as they reach perfect ripeness. Furthermore, he does not use selected yeasts, the wines are unfiltered, and he does not add tannins or chemicals. This is why the wines from the Luigi Tecce cellar evolve over time and reflect the essence of the terroir.
What wine to buy
Luigi Tecce’s Poliphemo Vecchie Vigne is a Taurasi made from 80-year-old vines worked with ancient artisanal methods. It is vinified with long macerations in open vats and matured for 24 months in medium-sized barrels. It has a broad and complex bouquet of red fruit, spices, incense, undergrowth, roots and herbs.
There are many Italian organic wineries worth knowing about. These are three wineries that represent southern Italian production well, but it is only a small part of the story. Keep following my blog to discover more wines to add to your collection!
