Calabria

Calabria is much more than Tropea and Reggio di Calabria.

If one drives from the north to Calabria and for the first time comes out of one of the countless tunnels, one is not badly surprised about the bizarre mountain world. No trace of beaches or harbor towns one would suspect. They're many miles south. First you drive through Terre di Cosenza, a huge area with countless mountains north of the booming city of Cosenza. Since 2012, this has been a DOC area for a wide range of red, rosé and white wines, combining the wines of the former DOC areas Donnici, Pollino, San Vito di Luzze and Verbicaro. Terre di Cosenza covers the entire province of Cosenza with the subzones Colline del Crati, Condoleo, Donnici, Esaro, Pollino, San Vito di Luzze and Verbicaro. The names of these subzones appear on the label after the DOC designation Terre di Cosenza. Depending on the area, there are also differences in the grape varieties.

In the south-east, the most famous wine-growing region of Calabria still lies in the Greater Region, the DOC Cirò. In the southwest the DOC close's Savuto and Scavigna directly, followed by Lamezia DOC. In the southeast, Melissa and S. Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto are located at the border of the region. The remaining two DOC regions, Bivongi and Greco di Bianco, lie much further south on the east coast.

For Calabria, the enormous decline in wine production since the 1960s was actually an advantage. Many vineyards in unfavourable locations have been abandoned. Today's DOC regions of Calabria produce significantly better quality wines. In general, one can say that Calabria's wines are a wonderful accompaniment to food. Because that's what they've always been made for.

The unique micro-climate enables organic cultivation.

In Calabria, deep valleys separate the individual mountain ranges from each other. They offer space for scattered, mostly small vineyards in which the old system of buscher education - called Alberello - is widespread. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by dry, hot summers and mild winters in the interior. Due to the constant wind of the oceans there are hardly any temperature fluctuations. Viticulture plays only a minor role compared to the cultivation of citrus fruits, olives and various vegetables. The vineyards cover approximately 9,500 hectares of vineyards. The largest stocks are in the north, on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast, and in the south on the Ionian Sea coast.

A thousand years before the turn of time, Greek settlers founded colonies in Calabria and neighbouring Campania and called the area Oinotria. At the same time they introduced many of their grape varieties - for example the ancestor of the red Gaglioppo, which today covers over a quarter of the vineyards, and the ancestor of the white and red Greco grape.

The most famous and perhaps also the best wine is the DOC Ciró from the east coast of the region, accompanied by legends. From the local grape variety Gaglioppo, full-bodied, powerful red wines are pressed there, which mature after a few years to strong, but delicate drops. The red Cirò is said to be the descendant of the famous Cremissa (Krimisa), one of the oldest wines in the world. At a time when Calabria was still under Greek rule, this red wine was said to have been offered to athletes who had won the Olympic Games. A white version of the Cirò is made of the variety "Greco" and can compete with the best white wines of southern Italy.

The red wine varieties occupy 90 percent of the area. The most important are Gaglioppo (with a quarter of the vineyard area) and Magliocco. Furthermore: Aglianico, Alicante, Calabrese (Nero d’Avola), Greco Nero, Montepulciano, Nerello Cappuccio, Nerello Mascalese, Nocera, Sangiovese, occasionally also Cabernet and Syrah. Important white wine varieties are Ansonica (Inzolia), Chardonnay, Greco Bianco, Coda di Volpe Bianca, Malvasia Bianca di Candia, Montonico Bianco, Moscato Bianco, Trebbiano Toscano, Verdicchio Bianco and Zibibo (Muscat d’Alexandria). SUPERIORE.DE