For us of the Martusciello family, wine is a way to experience our land with passion and commitment.
Planting vines, following their growth, harvesting the grapes, making wine, getting excited about good crops and crying over the less fortunate ones, travelling the world to promote Campania... - this has been our life for the last four generations. Our family is entirely devoted to wine and to the project Grotta del Sole. We are happy to show it to you, although we'd be much happier if we could meet you in person.
Come and see us.
The project Grotta del Sole started in the early 1990s with the aim of recovering a few quality vinicultural areas of Campania which had long been abandoned, despite their celebrated past. Grotta del Sole has thus given new life to the Phlegraen Fields, with the Falanghina and Piedirosso varieties, the Sorrento Peninsula, with its Gragnano and Lettere and Agro Aversano with its Asprinio. As time passed, the same commitment was extended to Irpinia, which produces Greco, Fiano and Aglianico, and to Vesuvius, home to Lacryma Christi.
Recovering the vinicultural tradition of these areas was not easy and required a lot of work to experiment and make up for decades, if not centuries, of oblivion. Just as difficult it was to have a clear knowledge of the challenge involved: going back into time, to bring back from the past the wines of the future. It was not easy to identify the well-cultivated vineyards within Campania's landscape, often distorted by sprawling urbanisation. This is even more so in some of the areas selected - from the Phlegraen Fields to Agro Aversano, to the Lattari Mountains - where viticulture was in a state of total neglect: despite their age-old vinicultural tradition and their wines, celebrated by writers and poets for two thousand years, these areas were not even included among those with a registered designation of origin.
The Cantine Grotta del Sole winery was born out of the Martusciello family's love for the wines of their own land; and because of this love, the philosophy underlying the production aims at enhancing the taste of "terroir". The wines produced are those which can enhance the quality and potential of the grapes, without distorting their taste and aroma, that is, without producing a "commercial taste", a standardised simplification produced by modern oenology. Enough with commercial exaggerations, with consumerism that kills quality - Grotta del Sole bets on what the friendly nature of the Phlegraean Fields has managed to pass on to us.
The project Grotta del Sole is currently developing and 'fermenting'. The first ten years were dedicated to recovering the vineyard, obtaining the registered designations of origin, including many of our partners in the Register of Vineyards. 2003 marked the beginning of a new stage, aiming at quality improvement both in the vineyard and the cellar.
Two prestigious consultants were called to attain this goal, Attilio Pagli and Federico Curtaz, and some of the goals have already been reached: in the 2004 and 2005 vintages we carried out a difficult selection of our partners; in 2005 we rented a farm in the town of Tufo with seven hectares of vineyards, where Grotta del Sole already directly produces Greco di Tufo and Fiano wines of Avellino; during the 2005 harvest Francesco Jr. joined the company full-time, thus enriching the technical staff's potential; in January 2006 real estate was purchased in order to broaden the winery; in March 2006 the new image of the winery was presented; this was the first restyling made since 1992; in May 2006 the Foglie di Amaltea vineyard was planted bringing the Martusciello's family vineyards to 13 hectares in the Phlegraean Fields.
The selection of our partners was not easy due to the decades-long relationships existing with many of them. However, it has brought about a clear improvement in the wine's quality, recognized by our clients, guides, and also by international competitions.
The purchase of a building and estate from Vinicole Flegrea S.r.l., adjacent to Grotta del Sole, an outdoor area of 6,978 sq metres and an indoor area of 1,360 sq metres will give us the possibility of planning a productive system perfectly on the level of set qualitative programs. Already during 2006 the vinification system of red wines was restored with the acquisition of 16 new fermentation tanks, a total of 1,300 hl, the doubling of the pressers and the adoption of a picking conveyor which will allow for further selection of the grapes delivered by our contributors. Moreover, the new fermentation tanks have a single capacity inferior to those used in the past and this will help us separate small lots of higher quality grapes.
In the meantime, we are planning a complete renovation of the plant, where the entire work cycle will be carried out, while in the current space of the company, which extends in an area of 5.000 sq metres, will be logistics. Eventually, Grotta del Sole will extend over a total area of 35,000 sq metres, 4,000 of which will be covered and used for production and logistics, including a 400 sq metre barrique cellar, and 23,000 sq metres vineyards.
Our cellar was built in 1992, but it is already under deep renovation for the vinification unit, for part of the fixtures and the building of an aging room:
A vinification system and stocking department made with stainless steel thermo-regulated tanks with a 10,140 hl capacity.
A sparkling process department with thermo-regulated pressure tanks with a 1,320 hl capacity.
A maturation cellar with around 100 barriques at controlled temperature and constant humidity. The passage to wood allows for the tranfer to the wine of all those substances that enrich the bouquet and create the wine's ideal aromatic and organoleptic complexity because of the constant micro-reaction typical of the environment.
A bottle refinement department for further wine maturation which completes its evolutionary state by enhancing and refining bouquet and taste. Depending on the type of wine, the bottles are left for a period of several months in a place appropriately chosen for this final and decisive passage.
Campania was one of the first places where wine production became known in the world.
The best wines in ancient times, the Falerno, Greco, Faustiniano and Caleno were made in Campania. In this region there is a wide, high-quality variety of vines: falanghina, piedirosso, greco di tufo, fiano, aglianico, asprinio, biancolella, coda di volpe, are descendant of the ancient vineyards denominated Vitis Hellenica, Aminea Gemina, Vitis Apiana, Uve Alopeci, Aminea Lanata or Minuscola, etc. This ampelographic heritage represents the great richness of Campania, the only region which does not allow foreign vines in its doc (registered designation of origin) and docg (registered and guaranteed designation of origin) productions. Although a small region, Campania offers different production areas in a territory that is 70% hills.
Grotta del Sole has chosen five areas of production: Phlegraean Fields, Irpinia, the Sorrento Peninsula, Vesuvius and Agro Aversano. The company's vineyard of reference amounts to 120 hectares , 13 of which in ownership, 29 in direct management and the rest cultivated by our trusted partners, some of whom we have worked with for forty years. The direct production quota amounts to 42 hectares out of 120, about 35%. Our goal is to control at least 60% within 5 years.
To manage the Grotta del Sole vineyard, we required the collaboration of Federico Curtaz, an agronomist from the region of Valle d'Aosta who, after working with Angelo Gaja for seventeen years, decided to become a free-lance consultant. Federico takes care of the owned vineyards and we are now exploring the possibility of re-implanting the spalatrone pole system which is typical of the Phlegraean Fields.
Each one of these areas offers distinctive characteristics making for particularly high-quality vine growing. The hills of Irpinia, the centenarian vines of the Phlegraean Fields, the Aversa 'alberata' (line trees), the black soil of the Vesuvius and the bubbly humanity of the Gragnano farmers have convinced us to work in these lands and make its wines.
Campania was one of the first places where wine production became known in the world. The best wines in ancient times, the Falerno, Greco, Faustiniano and Caleno were made in Campania. In this region there is a wide, high-quality variety of vines: falanghina, piedirosso, greco di tufo, fiano, aglianico, asprinio, biancolella, coda di volpe, are descendant of the ancient vineyards denominated Vitis Hellenica, Aminea Gemina, Vitis Apiana, Uve Alopeci, Aminea Lanata or Minuscola, etc. This ampelographic heritage represents the great richness of Campania, the only region which does not allow foreign vines in the production of its doc e docg (designations of origin). Although a small region, Campania offers different production areas in a territory that is 70% hills.
Grotta del Sole has chosen five areas of production: Phlegraen Fields, Irpinia, Sorrento Peninsula, Vesuvius and Agro Aversano. The company's vineyard of reference amounts to 120 hectares , 13 of which in ownership, 29 in direct management and the rest cultivated by our trusted partners, some of whom we have worked with for forty years. So the direct production quota amounts to 42 hectares out of 120, about 35%. Our goal is to control at least 60% within 5 years. Each one of these areas offers distinctive characteristics making for particularly high-quality vine growing. The hills of Irpinia, the centenarian vines of the Phlegraean Fields, the Aversa 'alberata' (line trees), the black soil of the Vesuvius and the bubbly humanity of the Gragnano farmers have convinced us to work in these lands and make its wines.