Torricino Fiano Di Avellino 750ml

$54.99 $51.49 price per bottle

Producer The Torricino estate is located outside the township of Tufo in the Avellino province in Campania. The township of Tufo is named for the tufaceous, volcanic soil that the town is built on and has given its name to the appellation, Greco di Tufo. The property takes its title from an old medieval tower neighboring the twenty-six acre vineyard (10. 5 ha). Torricino is owned by the Di Marzo family and grows and bottles Greco di Tufo (D. O. C. G. ), Fiano di Avellino (D. O. C. G. ), and Aglianico (I. G. T. ). The Di Marzo family has been deeply involved in the economic and agricultural life of Tufo for nearly 150 years. In 2002 Stefano Di Marzo (born in 1977) completed his training in agronomy and oenology and decided to commit Torricino to a policy of rigorous selection to bring out all the character and personality of his Greco di Tufo. Stefano believes that it is the land that makes the difference. In Tufo, sulphur mines discovered in 1866 and owned by his ancestors have been the economic backbone of the town. Stefano, who inherited from his parents Vintantonio & Vincenzina an enormous love and passion for his land, inherited also a unique “terroir” where the mines of sulphur play an important role; in fact his Greco shows intriguing hints of sulphur perfumes. The estate belongs to the Di Marzo family, which in the past sold its grapes to large commercial houses. The family has decided, now that young oenologist Stefano Di Marzo is fully involved in operations, to commit itself to a policy of rigorous selection in order to bring out all of the character and personality of their grapes which they cultivate and of their wines which they market to an informed public that understands and appreciates the quality, the history, and the culture which is embodied in these wines. The Greco di Tufo grape was brought from Thessalonica in Greece (near modern day Macedonia) to Magna Grecia in Southern Italy by the Pelasgian people over two millennia ago and cultivated by the Romans in the centuries that followed. While many of the origins of ancient varietals are more the stuff of legend than fact, Greco is an exception. A fresco at Pompeii retains what could be called ancient graffiti dated to the first century BC that reads: ”You are truly cold, Bytis, made of ice, if last night not even Greco wine could warm you up. ” First reared on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, Greco now has clones and slight variations that appear in many of Italy’s twenty regions: grecchetto in Umbria, grecanico in Sicily, and erbaluce in the Piedmont. In some quarters, Greco is viewed as the father of many of Italy’s white wine varietals. Fiano di Avellino, another ancient varietal, was named from the Latin variety Vitis Apiana whose sweet fruit attracted bees. Enjoyed by royalty throughout history, Charles D’Anjou and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II held the wine in particularly high regard during the Middle Ages. The grape is planted in coastal regions as well, but Fiano reaches its ultimate expression in the hills of Avellino. These two varietals thrive on Torricino’s hillside on the right bank of the Sabato River. Enjoying southern exposure and a cooler climate provided by the densely forested Appenine Mountains, the climate is more akin to Piedmont than to the famous Campania coast. Consequently, the sulfur, chestnuts, hazelnuts, and calcareous clay soil surrounding Torricino are allowed to impart the unique intensity of their flavors on Greco and Fiano. Greco accounts for more than half of Torricino’s production and its popularity among savvy Italianophiles has made it the number two consumed white wine in enotecas across Italy.