wine MACCHIATELLO, Gargano, Puglia region
For the first time in its young history, the "Yellow Road" encountered unforeseen circumstances. The fact is that on the peninsula of Gargano, the region of Puglia, Italy (for those who have not heard about the peninsula Gargano, we give here a little help) a meeting was held with the winemaker Nello. His small winery makes only red wine. Wine MACCHIATELLO (from Macchiia grapes). The history of its creation is as surprising as the peninsula Gargano itself. Nello searches, looks after, restores ancient varieties of vines, which many years ago grew in this region and already from this "ancient" grapes gets its wine ... Red. Of course, it is impossible to include red wine in the Yellow Road ... But it's also impossible not to talk about such a winery. It remains to be hoped that Nello will come up with something with white grapes ... In the near future.
"My reality as a "small producer" of wines is a bit abnormal: when you are born and spend your years in a vineyard, the passion for making "wine" is already a part of your being.
I am a botanist and work in Gargano, I could not neglect the agrarian skills that already developed in this land. In this sense, the territory proved to be an extraordinary area for research. So some of the old vineyards, "real biological fossils", seated with these "historical" vines, are almost preserved to the present day. Among these "old vines" were those that were inherited from my father. Desire and enthusiasm (probably exaggerated) show that vineyards can also be a resource that is renewed every day. I began to recognize, study, understand their stories, even the human ones with which they are connected. Having a small cellar, which was founded by my father, I ventured to make this bet. Result? Bottled wine, total 500/700 bottles. Red wine with high iron content, called MACCHIATELLO di Mastrocianni, it is a vinification experiment with a scientific approach (using selected yeast, rational dosage of SO2), etc. These are the vines that together with my brother we managed to "save", restoring the old vineyard of our ancestors, which today is a "collection of historical vines of Gargano" (the project "Regjevit-Project-Apulia"), unique in the region.
In Vico del Gargano, where the collection is found and the Macchiatello winery exists, it was customary to grow vineyards with the predominance of ancient black Malvasia strains and, above all, the vine locally identified as the Macchia grapes (also known as Pampanon) that can grow well even on the beach. My grandfather told us that it had been found in the early nineteenth century, found by chance in an area called "Makhia" between Pesici and Vieste (hence the name of my wine). On the territory there were other small vineyards, 3000/5000 square meters, surviving remains, which for a while were supported by peasants. It was urgent to save these vines from extinction, which had survived the phylloxera (more than a hundred years ago). Only in Apulia at the end of the XIX century there were more than 200 vines.
The only way to "save" is to multiply our legacy. My brother and I implemented a new small vineyard in 1999, where we planted these vines (a small collection of this heritage), consisting mainly of the vines of ancestors' vineyards. We started making more grapes, and production was increased by several hundred bottles. Then everything started to change, also from the point of view of "cultural sensitivity". Gargano National Park involved me in a census project: cataloging historical vines, those that can still be found all over Gargano. Result: 60 different vines, mainly for black wine".
Nello Biscotti
The Nello Biscotti winery is next to Vico del Gargano...
Located in the heart of the Gargano National Park, about 6 km (3.5 miles) away from the sea and 10 km (6 mi) away from the Umbra Forest, Vico is one of Italy's Most Beautiful Towns.
The town centre is dominated by a castle and by the massive dome of the Colleggiata dell'Assunta. This ancient district, known as the Rione Civita, is a triumph of stone with its chimneys, archways, capitals, stairways, and underground chambers carved out of the rock.
Outside the town, the wonders continue with the Necropolis, an important archaeological site on the Mount Tabor plateau. The Umbra Forest, an immense spread of oak, beech and yew trees and typical arbutus (fruit-bearing shrubs), is ideal for outdoor activities. You'll find riding centres, trekking paths and a thick pine grove that leads down to the wonderful seashore between San Menaio and Calenelle.
The “door” to Gargano is Manfredonia, but on the way, stops at the Romanesque Churches of San Leonardo and Santa Maria di Siponto (both approximately a thousand years old) are a must for their historic and architectonic importance. Vieste faroManfredonia rises on the Gulf of the same name; it is a city rich in monuments, beginning with the Swabian, Anjou, Aragonese Castle, commissioned by Manfredi of Sicily during the city’s founding.
The area’s natural marvels also merit a visit, including the Scaloria Grotto and Lake Salso.
Heading toward Vieste, the spectacularly rocky coast is marked by steep precipices and overhangs, giant white boulders, and tiny beaches accessible only from the sea.
Next is Mattinata (whose name means “morning”), which features an enormous sandy beach, but is mostly immerged in a swathe of centuries-old olive tree groves. Not only olives, but almond trees define Mattinata - thus it is known varyingly as the “Land of Almonds” or the “White Butterfly of Gargano”. The latter is attributed to the peculiar form designed by the visual mix of white houses nestling in the hills.
Then, the Bay of Zagare (or Orange Blossoms) follows, with its sea-stacks, and Pugnochiuso, a beloved local sea destination.
On the eastern side of the “buttress” is Vieste: the sea here is, in a word, unforgettable, its waves lapping between two long, white-sand beaches. A rocky promontory dominates above, topped by a borgo, a labyrinth of tortuous stairways and winding streets and alleys, and white edifices and arches.
"The first analysis of the grapes showed an amazing oenological potential: the Macchia grapes in September (known as the mid-late grapes) give sugar values of about 200 g / l, acidity of almost 9 g / l and, above all, many pigments (flavonoids) mg / l 2520 and anthocyanins 1024). The advantages, equally interesting, were given to us by three other investigated vines (Uva nera tosta, Nardobello, Malvagia nera). You can get amazing red wines and our first bottles (2001, 2002, 2003), that's proof ...
Having made wine, McCattello, we took the only way to save witnesses of human history, historical, cultural and scientific values. Fortunately, our multivariate model was confirmed in the process of vineyard reconstruction.
Otherwise, the old varietal heritage would have been lost if we had moved to a monovariant model.
Meanwhile, the years go by, and my little new vineyard is still struggling to give us the fruits: a complex landscape, dry, stony, poorly rooted cuttings (it is not suitable for these lands) ..."
Nello Biscotti
"Meanwhile, the wine improved in each crop; and I started looking for tasters, oenologists, "experts". How is Macchiatello? Many say: "special", and some others add: "this reminds us of some wild vines of the foot." But all agree in one: "Definitely an original product". In May 2011, Pierce Carson, a journalist, a typical Italian researcher, visited me and published an article in the famous American magazine Napa Valley. After tasting a few bottles, he wrote: "A-a-a-a, 2008, what a wine!" He had beautiful floral notes, perhaps violets, even spring wildflowers. "There were fruit berries ... Rich wine." In the summer of the same year, my small cellar was "captured" by several Americans, ready to buy all my small production. Also many Frenchmen often visit the winery, and they are all surprised by this "Italian wine" ... This genetic, cultural, but unknown, anonymous heritage was first studied. Of the 25 specimens studied, authentic genotypes (indigenous vines) were different, for example, Uva della Macchia, Uva nera tosta, Nardobello, Moscatiddone nero, Malvagia nera, grape vines, which account for 80% of the composition of Macchiatello. Biochemical analyzes, repeated for several years, characterize the wine (handicraft technologies) of good alcohol content (13 / 14.5%), almost zero sugar content, pH and total acidity, interesting for red wine and, above all, an amazing amount of polyphenols (2500 mg/l)"
Nello Biscotti
Yes, and three addresses with good white wine especially for the "Yellow Road" from Nello Biscotti:
Sergey Evtuhov, author of the project
.
