Michele and I are spending February and March in Rome. We like to be here at this time of the year because the weather is pleasant and the crowds are smaller.
One day, we decided to take the high speed train to Naples to visit Gilda Guida and her husband, Salvatore Martusciello, who own Salvatore Martusciello, Wines of Persistence. I first met the couple a few years ago on a press trip sponsored by Campania Stories and organized by Diana Cataldo. The wine they presented at the event was a Gragnano, and it was wonderful.
Gilda and Salvatore met us at the train station and took us on a little tour of Naples. At lunchtime, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, La Taverna a Santa Chiara. Michele and I have gone there many times, and it turns out that it is a favorite of the Martusciello’s, too.
At the restaurant we were greeted by Nives Monda, the owner. She sat with us and told us about the restaurant and her passion for the locally produced products of the region. She suggested we try a tasting of several of their regional dishes.
While we ate, Salvatore told us that he had had 26 years of experience in his family winery before going out on his own. His family’s was the first winery to produce sparkling wine in Campania over 30 years ago. Now Salvatore and Gilda are building a new winery of their own which should be completed next year. It is located in Quarto, just north of Naples.
Salvatore said he does not own any vineyards but has arrangements with a number of small vineyard owners in the area. All of the arrangements are based on a handshake. He spoke very enthusiastically about the terroir, the native grapes and this part of Campania in particular.
Trentapioli Spumante Brut Asprinio d’Aversa (Metodo Martinotti Brut) Made from 100% Asprinio d’Aversa from the tree-lined historic vineyard in the town of Casapesenna, in the Agro Aversano.
Trentapioli, the name of this wine, comes from the thirty pegs of the ladder used to climb up to harvest the grapes. The vines are typical Alberata Aversana. In the Alberata training system, which dates back to the Etruscans, the vines grow up to 18 meters tall and are tied to tall poplar trees. The harvest is manual because ladders up to 20 meters high are needed in order to reach the grapes. The grapes are placed in 18 kg boxes. The soil is alluvial, volcanic and of medium texture.
After crushing the grapes, the must is immediately separated from the skins and placed in an autoclave for a second fermentation. This wine is matured on its lees in an autoclave for about 90 days and was bottled on December 3. The wine has nice citrus fruit aromas and flavors with a hint of lime, herbs and good acidity. It can age for 5 to 6 years.
With it, we enjoyed an assortment of locally produced salumi and cheeses including caciocavallo Nobile®, pecorino affinato in vino, caciotta di bufala, ricotta di fuscella di latte Nobile® e bocconcino di bufala di Aversa, pancetta di Agerola di Acampora, prosciutto crudo di Mottolino, Valtellina, provolone cheese and ricotta cheese from Nobile® milk.
Gilda said the Trentapioli was the perfect combination with the mozzarella and we had to agree.
Otto Uve, Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina DOC Made from 60% Piedirosso, Aglianico, and Sciascinoso, and 40% Suppezza, Castagnara, Serbegna, Olivella and Sauca. The eight grape varieties in the blend give this wine its name. Salvatore said it was a tribute to the lesser known grapes of the area. The training system is espalier. The vineyard is at 300 meters. For 2015 the harvest began on September 24th and ended on October 8th. The grapes were hand harvested into boxes of 20 kg. After destemming and crushing, maceration with the skins lasts for 5 days, soft pressing of the grapes in a pneumatic press and fermentation in temperature controlled tanks at about 20C. The wine was bottled in the beginning of December. It should be served chilled and be drunk within two years after it was bottled.
This is the perfect pizza wine but it also goes with many other southern Italian dishes. It is only 11.5% alcohol. This is a wine with light foam when poured, hints of strawberry, red currants and a touch of spice. It is a slightly frizzante red wine which Salvatore likes to describe as vivace (lively).
With it we had Ziti alla Genovese, which, despite its name is a classic Neapolitan dish. Meats, usually beef and pork, are slowly cooked with a lot of onions to form a mellow sauce that is served over pasta.
Settevulcani Piedirosso dei Campo Flegrei DOC made from 100% Piedirosso from historical vineyards in the Cuma archeological zone. Settevulcani means seven volcanoes.
Piedirosso is one of the oldest grape varieties in Campania mentioned by Pliny the Elder (D.79 AD) in his Naturalis Historia. The vines are pre-phylloxera and they are not grafted onto American root stock. The vineyards are at sea level. Soil is very loose, trachytic and pumiceous sandy. Cultivation system is a traditional local system called “Puteplano” a kind of espalier with a chestnut stake supporting the vines. Harvest takes place the first week in October. The grapes are destemmed followed by a soft pressing. Fermentation is the temperature controlled tanks within skin contact. The wine is bottled in the late spring following the harvest. The name Piedirosso derives from the color and shape of the stem which during the harvest becomes reddish in color and recalls the ‘feet’ of a pigeon. Piedirosso dei Campi Flegrei is characterized by its aromas of small red and black fruits including blackberry, blueberries red currents, cherry. and a touch of spice.
With the Settivlcani, we had another Neapolitan classic, pasta with potatoes and provola di Agerola di latte Nobile®, a cheese from Agerola on the Amalfi Coast.
Salvatore also produces Settevulcani Falanghina dei Campi Flegrei DOC, and Ottonove Lettere della Penisola Sorrentina DOC.
These are all traditional wines and all go very well with food.
We had a wonderful visit and look forward to visiting again when their new winery will be finished.
Wonderful meal – and wine!