IGT Campania Piedirosso, Sabbia Vulcanica, Agnanum

The Agnanum estate is one of the rarest, most secret and symbolic estates in southern Italy. But its ancient but microscopic appellation (D.O.C.) is in danger of disappearing...It is indeed the Phlegrean fields (campi Flegrei), from the Greek φλεγραῖος ("burning"), which lie in a volcanic region in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, northwest of Naples. They correspond to one of the most active supervolcanoes in the world. But this name is not really due to the volcanic activity, which has been quiet here for more than 1,500 years, but rather to the numerous hydrothermal phenomena (fumaroles and hot springs) that were once exploited in ancient Rome.Located on the volcanic hills of the Astroni nature reserve, the Moccia family's Agnanum estate has been passionately devoted to heroic viticulture for more than forty years. A precise cultivation plan, initiated in 1960 by the founder Gennaro Moccia, is carried out with the same enthusiasm by his son Raffaele who, in order to follow the business closely, gave up his profession as an agro-technician to exploit the area's wine resources to the full. The vineyards rise on hills where the steep slope is based on a continuous model of the terrain, with a terraced layout that only allows for manual management, which ensures a good water supply by creating small craters near each vine. The rigorous selection of old indigenous grape varieties, the very...