The art of wine-making in South Pontino

The winegrowing tradition in southern Lazio has a 3000 thousands year’s long history. Since the Latins and Etruscans before the ancient Romans the territories of southern Lazio were the wine reserve of the eternal city of Rome. Wine-making was already well testified from the Etruscans side of the history from at least 9 century BC. Greek colonies appeared nearby from around 9-8 centuries BC when the local tribes consisted in populations of hills warriors like the Ausones (a word from the ancient Greek language).

      Italian Wines in a cellar

From the third century BC, the hills around ancient Rome were not enough anymore to satisfy the quantity and more sophisticated appetite for new wines for the imperial banquets in the ever-growing city. Many famous wines were born in this area. The ancient Romans drank white wines but their greatest tributes were for the red Falernian and Caecuban which were grown along the coast in southern Latium and northern Campania. The cecubo or cecubum praised by Roman poets and emperors were made on these hills which ancient maps called with the name of Cecubi Hills. The Falerno is another well-know local wine very renowned during the times of ancient Rome and has always been of interests for researchers of the history of enology, praised and appreciated in ancient times.

The Falerno seemed to be practically disappeared for a long period from the wine scene while being bound to his prestigious fame, almost a legend, of the great times when it had a magnificent splendor. Falerno sets its roots in classic ancient times. During those times it was a wine very appreciated and Pliny the Elder believed it had therapeutic qualities, it was considered by Horace his preferred wine, as well as by Virgil that in the second book of The Georgics wrote «Nec cellis ideo contende Falernis» (therefore no wine can be compared to Falerno).

Many other famous people of the Roman times praised the qualities and the nobleness of Falerno, which was promoted greatly during Julius Caesar's times. In recent times it was appreciated by Russia's Zar and it was the preferred wine at the court of King Gustave of Sweden and it also becaming the official wine of the royal palace. Falerno made with grapes coming from the area of Roccamonfina and Monte Massico. Rests of many ancient Roman farms are still today the witness the wine making knowledge of the Romans. Wine making was very common in most of the Aurunci Mountains and hills slopes. The territory of Valle del Liri, close to Campodimele , Pico and Esperia farmers are still selecting millenary grapes like the local Olivella vine from Esperia, the Cesanese in the area of Pico and Pontecorvo, and finally the Merolano between Spigno Saturnia and Ausonia. To be noted that old and prestigious vines like the Bellone (a variety of Trebbiano vines) and the white Malvasia are considered autochthonous varieties.

The local white wines have in general a marked floral tone, of mature fruits with a good sense of ampleness. The reds have often the typical aroma of Macchia Mediterranea (Mediterranean bush) accompanied by the spring berries sour up to a more mature tone according to the wine’s age. The color for the typical red wines from South Pontino is often a dark ruby with a good and pleasant transparency always balanced in its structure. The territories from Monte Massico to the plain of Terracina up to the initial slopes of the Aurunci Mountains are ideal area for the production of high quality grapes. The perfect climate, the long, bright, sunny ventilated slopes and the soil are ideal for creating excellent wines both red and white. The grounds contain mainly dissolved limestone which creates the best possible conditions for the production of grapes high in sugar content and therefore wines with a good, lasting alcoholic content. During the production stage the grapes picked only with dry weather are stored into well-aired and dark containers then pressed.

The white wines go through a soft pressing and immediately stored into steel containers to get matured; the temperature is kept under control and after a period of time the content pas into chestnut barrels. The reds instead must be left to macerate for a bout 10 days and the put into steel containers before experiencing the oak barrels. For both reds and whites the complete maturation must happen in the bottle, usually one year for the white and a couple for the red for the most typical table wines. The vintage and wine-making take place in late August-September for the white wines and Late September-October for the red ones. On average the wine is considered ready approximately within the month of April for the white which has not been in the barrels and not before one year for the red wines who have spent at least the last 6-8 months into the barrels.