When life filled the Roman city of Pompeii, wine played an important role. There were wine bars and restaurants, and vineyards as well. Now grapegrowing and winemaking will return to the city in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, thanks to a partnership between the Pompeii Archaeological Park and the Tenute Capaldo Group winemaking firm.
Tenute Capaldo Group owns Feudi di San Gregorio in Campania and Basilisco in Basilicata. Part of the company’s mission is preserving the historical vines and grapes of Southern Italy. Their plan in Pompeii is to plant vines on the sites of some ancient vineyards. They are also working with 2.5 acres of vines that were planted and cultivated by fellow Campania winery Mastroberardino for a wine called Villa dei Misteri for several years as part of an earlier project. When finished, Tenute Capaldo will farm 15 acres in total.
Staff members plan to bring their expertise and experience of historic grape varieties and old vine maintenance to Pompeii to ensure the authenticity of the new vineyards. They plan to farm with organic, sustainable and biodynamic practices, using vine-training systems such as pergolas to ensure natural sun protection, the way the Romans would have done it. Ancient grape varieties such as Per'e Palummo, Coda di Volpe, Caprettone, Aglianico, Piedirosso, Falanghina, Fiano and Greco will be planted amidst vegetables and cereals such as lentils, just as the Romans would have structured their vineyards and farms.
For Tenute Capaldo president Antonio Capaldo, “It's all about talking about wine as a cultural artifact rather than just something you drink.” For him, the project is about “creating something that travels through time.”
“I think Pompeii is incredible, and it will allow us to travel through time to write very good days ahead for the world of wine and for Italian wine in particular,” he told Wine Spectator.
A Lesson in Ancient Winemaking
When can we expect wine on the market from the famed city? Capaldo explained that while there will be a celebratory harvest of the first grapes picked at Pompeii this year, the first wines are still quite a few years away. The first proper vintage will probably not come to the market until 2028 to 2030. Eventually the plan is to have both reds and whites coming from Pompeii.
They also hope to create cellars where the public can see the Roman techniques for crushing grapes and aging wine. “The winery inside the park, that's the other wonderful part of this project,” said Capaldo. “As soon as we are reaching 50 to 60 percent capacity of production, we are going to have a part of the park where we are going to do the crushing that will be close to the vineyards,” he explains.
“Just outside the park is a dome of sorts, with amphorae. We're gonna build a place for all the aging to happen in the park, in the dome. So you'll have amphorae for aging displayed within the park. So part of the visit to Pompeii in, let's say two, three years time, will be all about wine. And that's incredible because there are 8 million people visiting the park every year and they will hear all about the wines.”
For park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel, it's all about bringing together the history of Pompeii with its intertwined history of ancient Roman winemaking. “The vineyards were enhanced with the aim of recounting the story of the ancient city and making it known from different aspects,” said Zuchtriegel.
Capaldo agreed. “We want to revive Pompeii not only as a place of research and knowledge, but also as a center of production and exchange, by restoring its historical roots.”
