VINEYARD | Giovanni Celeste Benvenuto's vineyards, fifteen hectares cultivated organically, are located in Francavilla Angitola on the Tyrrhenian side of the so-called Isthmus of Marcellinara. This is the narrowest point in Italy: only 35 km separate the Tyrrhenian Sea from the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean basin. A territory that was always dedicated to viticulture precisely due to the proximity of the two seas. The vineyard from which the Benvenuto Orange is obtained is called Ziopà, probably the dialect contraction of Zio Paolo, the name of the old owner. The three hectares of vineyards are located at an altitude of 350 metres facing the sea, on ancient terraces of granite soils, rich in skeleton and minerals, planted 32 years ago by Giovanni's grandfather.
PERSON | Giovanni lived in Abruzzo with his family until he was 18, then he immediately moved to Calabria with the specific intention of taking back the vineyards inherited from his grandfather and restarting the production of wine, graduating in the meantime in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies. Giovanni's idea was to resume the cultivation of Pizzo zibibbo - one of the many synonyms of Moscato d'Alessandria - to produce dry wines according to local tradition. In addition to the zibibbo, today he also grows native grape varieties such as magliocco, greco nero and calabrese.
WINE | For centuries zibibbo di Pizzo has been cultivated and sold as a dry table grape, as opposed to neighbouring Sicily, where it was used to make sweet dessert wines. The Benvenuto Orange '21 stays on the skins for 52 days and wears a brilliant coppery colour, extraordinarily complex and clear on the nose, with refined floral, citrus, in particular bergamot hints. Then tropical fruit, apricots, aromatic herbs and iodized mineral notes. The mouth is dense and elegant, with a sweet, well-balanced aromatic persistence and a very fresh and savoury acidic current that pushes the sip into a fresh and citrusy finish.
