Azienda Agricola Cocciacavallo is a small family–run company located in the hills o Irpinia in the South of Italy about 450 meters above sea level. “Cocciacavallo” because our grandfather in the early twentieth century was a vinegrower and made wine, obviously not like we do nowadays, but in large wooden vats, where in the evening, we all squashed the harvested grapes with bare feet. So we did up to about fifty years ago, when with the advent of the first manual crushers we started to abandon this method which is still in the memories of the oldest, leaving a sense of nostalgia. “Cocciacavallo” because our grandfather was nicknamed in this way for his stubbornness, from which the name of the area originates.
We produce Fiano di Avellino, a fine wine, ancient, it is said that its origins date back to the ancient peoples of the Phoenicians, and then was imported on the peninsula by the Romans who appreciated a lot its noble and delicate taste, and was called Apianum because bees were greedy of its sweet berries. And it is one of the few white wines in the world, that due to its structure is very suitable for aging.
Aglianico is also produced, a wine of ruby red color tending to garnet, suitable for long aging, during which it develops intense and complex aromas and flavours. Counted among the finest wines of Italy, made from the native grape of the same name. The excellent product obtained is the result of a perfect blend of special ingredients: land, climate, grapes of the lush vineyards located on the beautiful hills of Irpinia, between 400 and 700 meters, and the meticulous work of man. Dating back to the Etruscan period, was made famous all around the world and led to a turning point in wine production in Irpinia.
The processing of the vines is even today manual and mechanical, in particular, without using herbicides, pesticides nor chemical fertilizers, but organic fertilization is practiced planting grass, while for treatments traditional products such as copper and sulfur in small doses are used.
Wine is made through a long process in large casks, with natural fermentation, following the ancient and good practices handed down from father to son, to say, with native yeasts present on grapes and without any addition nor additive, so that wine retains all its typical original properties, Then, decanting takes place, and then a further maturation and aging in cask until bottling, that occurs no earlier than June/July of the year following the harvest. Sulfur dioxide has been reduced to a minimum and in bottling vanishes almost completely. The company has always sided itself with a sustainable agriculture and against the use of any type of toxic or invasive product for the protection of plants and animals and of man. Of course, quality is not synonymous with quantity, therefore, production is limited.
