An ancient wine from the slopes of Vesuvius
"An antique Pompeian painting represents the god of wine, Bacchus, who raises up out of the background of Vesuvius; on one side a snake stands out: the Genius Loci. The image is clear and is an hymn of plenty, ideal to be represented on the labels of our bottles. De Falco Wine is a volcanic winery, in the centre of the Vesuvius National Park. With the Vesuvius in its heart. Active, with the lively enthusiasm of its founders. Present, with the great experience of its manager. Warm, with the passion of its loving workers. Natural, with the attention which is paid daily to the surrounding environment. Modern."
Thus says the blurb on the Home Page of the De Falco Wines website. (Their translation.) Why am I writing about them? Well one of their wines - the Beneventano Falanghina, shown at left, was the delicious wine that my daughter-in-law and I drank at Grossi Florentino on Sunday. She was hoping to find somewhere in Australia to buy some, but apparently there is none. The restaurant must get it direct from wholesale importers - or even direct from the vineyard. Guy Grossi is from an Italian family after all.
So I decided to look into it.
The main thing that seemed to delight the wine waiter, and intrigue us, was that it comes from the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Well, as the picture shows, not quite - but not far off. The picture is taken from the vineyard's home page, so I am assuming it is indeed a picture of their own vineyard. And look they have a beautifully designed label too. We had it in a carafe because we only had half a bottle, but the wine waiter suggested we photograph the label for our records. I must say I wondered if the vineyard was at all worried about the possibility of Vesuvius erupting. My geology professor at university - way back in the 60s was a vulcanologist and was expecting it to erupt any day then. And, as you probably know, Vesuvius is just part of one of those massive super volcanoes that exist around the world (Campi Flegrei) - also likely to erupt some time soon - well in the next thousand years or so. They're on yellow alert in Naples (one up from the bottom level). But all of that is an aside, except to say that volcanic soils are known to be rich.
I was going to move on to the wine itself, but then I discovered that there are actually two De Falco wineries. Falco, by the way, means falcon. The one which produces the wine we drank - De Falco Vini and also Cantine De Falco. The connection? Same family. Grandfather Gabriele started it all back in the early to mid 20th century. His son Salvatore and then his son Gabriele continued with the Cantine De Falco name, and his son Angelo and his son Gabriele started the De Falco Vini.
I think the photos are of the De Falco Vini winery, the old Cantine De Falco winery and the Gabriele who 'made' our wine. I do wonder whether the two families are friends or not as the De Falco Vini blurb about the company does not mention the other side of the family:
"The story of De Falco Wines had its roots in the heart of Vesuvius National Park area for generations, a great environmental historic and archaeologic patrimony. The vines grow on land which has fire in its heart and looks on to the sea in the background. In every glass of our wine you will find this fire and the genius of the people who every day with love, take care of the wine, working in the shadow of the historical volcano. The establishment born by the experience of Angelo De Falco and by the enthusiasm of his son Gabriele. The rediscoverv and exploitation of the more and more appreciated Campania wines, the identification with the places and the environment are the foundations of our business philosophy."
Well it is Calabria! The Cantine De Falco does not make a Falanghina wine by the way.
So back to the wine - Beneventano Falanghina.
First of all - Beneventano. Well this is the name of the region in Calabria where this particular version of Falanghina is produced. And when referring to wine it is Beneventano IGT. The IGT being one of those Appellation Controlée kind of things. Although apparently this one is not as restrictive and allows its winemakers to experiment a little. Falanghina is the dominant white wine of the region and Aglianico is the dominant red. Don't know anything about that one either.
Falanghina is the grape. According to Wine-Searcher.com:
"Falanghina is an ancient Italian white-wine grape, reportedly of Greek origin. It is also said that Falanghina is the grape variety behind Falernian, the most famous wine of Roman antiquity and the inspiration for Falerno del Massico. There has been a renaissance of interest in Falanghina since the turn of the century, and there is now a movement to restore the reputation of this once-venerated grape. Most Falanghina is grown in Campania, in southern Italy. The vines thrive in the porous volcanic soils around Mount Vesuvius and the warm Mediterranean climate."
Isn't it interesting that in all things food and wine there seems to be a trend to go back in time and find out what people did long ago - ancient grains and all that? Old is cool.
This is what the grapes look like:
As to the taste. Our wine maker's tasting notes are as follows:
"The wine is a pale straw-yellow colour and presents a delicate, fresh, fruity aroma. Dry, well-orchestrated and slightly acidulous on the palate."
Our wine waiter used the word mineral and Wine-searcher.com says:
"Falanghina can have a slight pine scent, but is better known for its citrus-blossom aromas, in particular bitter orange. On the palate it typically shows classic apple and pear flavors, depending on where it is grown, with spicy or mineral notes."
And there's the word mineral - and I did sort of taste that, but I wonder how much of that came from suggestion from the waiter. All very pretentious really.
It's still really only made in Campania. None made here as yet.
