Italiano
Mastroberardino Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Piero Mastroberardino today is in charge of a winery that for centuries has operated in the defense and promotion of native Campanian varietals and produces, among its other wines, Taurasi Naturalis Historia.
We have borrowed the title of Vittorio De Sica’s 1965 Oscar-winning film to tell the story of an ‘Oscar-winning’ Italian winemaking family: Mastroberardino. It is a name that embodies the defense and promotion of the native varietals of the Campania region and its Irpinia subzone and they have the merit of having recuperated and enhanced the value of ancient biotypes in the name of protecting typicity and tradition.
Up to now ten generations have been involved in the family business the first traces of which date back to the mid-18th century. But it was in 1978 that Angelo Mastroberardino registered the company with the Avellino chamber of Commerce as an enterprise to export the family’s wines. His son Angelo then expanded their exports towards North and Latin America. While the damage caused by the phylloxera of the early 20th century led many to stop cultivating native grapes in favor of more productive although less prestigious varietals, Antonio Mastroberardino, Piero’s father, remained true to tradition and embarked on a program to replant ancient clones. This resulted in a rebirth for Irpinia winemaking and the production of wines that have become among the most famous and exclusive in the world.
In the mid-1990s, Piero Mastroberardino took charge of the family business and he carries on its mission of defending traditional winemaking values while keeping a close eye on innovation and the interpretation of their wines.
Today they control 14 estates in the best areas of Irpinia, the municipality of Benevento and Vesuvius and own over 200 hectares of vineyards that are cultivated using methods that respect the environment. The adoption of integrated and organic methods, a research project aimed at selecting yeasts from their own grapes and the certification of all activities according to UNI EN ISO norms, as well as participating in a program for environmental sustainability in collaboration with the environment Ministry, for which it has received VIVA Sustainable Wine certification, are examples of the Mastroberardino family’s constant commitment and attention to protecting nature and the consumer.
Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Aglianico and Piedirosso are the white and red grapes that have always been cultivated by the estate and that produce wines that have an extreme propensity to age, are full of personality and interpret the spirit and soul of the family and where the grapes are grown. The wines incude Taurasi Naturalis Historia, Taurasi Radici, Fiano di Avellino More Maiorum and Fiano di Avellino Radici, Greco di Tufo Novaserra and, last but not least, Neroametà, a wine that has been produced since 2013 but was an old family project. These are wines that entice the senses with their rare finesse that derives from an interpretation of tradition as an expression of the land of origin. The other wines they produce also stand out for their personality and inimitable style.
I was able to taste some of the above-mentioned wines together with Piero Mastroberardino and comparing different vintages allowed me to comprehend the work that was done yesterday and today and to foresee what their future goals will be with many projects and surprising novelties that will be, in a certain way, a “return to the past”.
For now here is a vertical tasting of Taurasi Naturalis Historia, given that the Fiano di Avellino Radici, Greco di Tufo Novaserra and Neroametà we tasted deserve a showcase all their own.
