Cantina del Taburno
Cantina del Taburna benefits from the long, dry growing season that Sannio is famous for.
Revered Campania producer first imported into US by Marc De Grazia
Farming co-op originated in 1901; established winery in 1972
Individual plot owners farm under central direction; winemaking by enologist Alfonso De Angelis and team of agronomists
Wines
The story of Campania’s transformation would be incomplete without Cantina del Taburno. This well-known cooperative, founded at the dawn of Campania’s transformation into a region known for high quality indigenous wines, manages wine-growing of 300 tiny hillside plots like a symphony, to craft some of the region’s most delightful Falanghina and Aglianico. Originally introduced to the U.S. by Marc de Grazia, the wines have long been associated with quality and value.
While Cantina del Taburno was established in 1972, the cooperative of vineyard owners has operated as a collective since 1901. Their land is north of Benevento in the historical Sannio region, whose pedigree was written about by philosophers Pliny, Cato and Horace. The area is perfect for two of Campania’s most important varieties: the delicately floral white grape, Falanghina and the late-ripening, red Aglianico. Here the winters are mild with regular rainfall and summers are warm and dry. This climate, along with the unique clay marl soil of the Mount Taburno appellation, makes this one of the few regions capable of producing world- class Falanghina and Aglianico.
Each of the 300 local family growers hold an average of two hectares of vines, allowing Taburno to orchestrate farming as if it were small and artisan. Furthermore, their culture of quality is deeply shared; they were one of the wineries that first brought Luigi Moio prominence as a consulting enologist, as they worked under his aegis to elevate their indigenous varietals to world class quality.
Today consultant Alfonso De Angelis and his staff of agronomists handle all of the planning and vineyard management. Harvest and winemaking run seamlessly. At the end of August, De Angelis creates a picking schedule so that the team harvests only one type of grape each week. Upon arrival of each small batch, grapes are weighed and analyzed for sugar, acidity and phenolic ripeness. Each lot that is accepted is designated to a specific quality level of wine. Families are paid accordingly and incentivized in this way to produce the best grapes from their specific terroir.
This vineyard management model allows Cantina del Taburno to maintain a steadfast focus on quality in every step of the winemaking process, similar to other benchmark Italian cooperatives such as Cantina Terlan.