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Sannio (DOC)

he area where this wine is produced extends to the whole territory of ancient Samnium (Sannio in Italian), the land of the Samnites - a pre-Roman people of great history and tradition. This is a hilly area in the heart of Campania where the best land has always been used for growing grapevines. The climatic conditions here are ideal for the ripening of grapes. Pliny, Columella, Cato and Horace have written on the excellence of the wines produced in Samnium, some of which they praised for the "slightly smoky aroma" and others, for the "intense resinous scent."

Nowadays, contemporary Samnite winegrowers skillfully produce high quality grapes, which are then transformed into great wines in state-of-the-art wineries. To preserve the quality of the wines, only grapes from the best lands, and not those grown in the humid vineyards located in valley floors, can be used in their production. Strict rules also govern the intensity of cultivation and discourage straining methods.

Honoring the region's ancient winemaking tradition, the D.O.C. regulations for the Sannio leave ample room for the production of wines obtained from the historical grapevines of Samnium - Aglianico, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Fiano, Greco, Moscato, Piedirosso, and Sciascinoso - but they also allow the production of a modern wine using a blend of two ancient local grape varieties - Greco and Falanghina - that are vinified through the relatively recent technique of second fermentation in the bottle - with remuage, dégorgement, and the resting of the wine in the spent yeast for at least a year. The result is a Spumante Metodo Classico of great character that deserves to be tasted.

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This page was written by Stefano Milioni. Background image and most photos in this section courtesy of Giuliano Bugialli, all right reserved (see Copyright and Credits).