I found my people Vinitaly International ! All regions of Italy are well represented Vinitaly, but I couldn’t wait to get to the area with Calabrese wines. Calabria is the tip of the boot of Italy, spanning from the Tyrrhenian to the Ionian Sea in the south of the country. While I have not yet had the privilege to make it that far south, my family origins lie within the region. My great-grandparents immigrated from Gizzeria, Calabria around 1910. They each separately boarded a boat in Naples, bound for New York where they would then travel to meet with family in Pittsburgh. Elizabeth, my great-grandmother made the journey at the age of 16 with only her 14 and 9 year old brothers as companions. I don’t know if any of my family were winemakers, but I like to think there were a few. Calabria has a long history of winemaking, dating back to before the first century AD. Modern winemaking in Calabria is focused on red grapes which make up 90% of the total production. Gaglioppo is the most widely grown red, and Greco is the most widely produced white. Vulcano Wine, led by Giuseppe Vulcano, produces whites, reds, and rosatos from both Greco Bianco and Gaglioppo in the sole DOC of Calabria, Cirò. The Greco Bianco is hand picked and fermented under temperature controlled conditions to produce a clean, yet full bodied wine with notes of chamomile and citrus. Giuseppe was kind enough to request a translator so that I could learn all about the grapes, the terroir and the production methods.
Falvo’s in Flight
