Venditti’s Barbetta

The world of wine is full of stories and this one regards the Venditti family which has been growing grapes and making wine in Castelvenere, in the Sannio area of the southern Campania region, since 1595. Nicola Venditti is the current owner and the estate’s enologist and aside from inheriting the family name, he also inherited a passion for researching biodiversity and protecting ampelographic heritage. Several years ago he founded the “Island of Wine Culture”, a center for research and experimentation that seeks to bring back ancient local grape varieties that have been all but lost. An example of one that Nicola was particularly interested in is the Barbera grape, which has nothing in common with the Piedmont one of the same name. It survived the phylloxera plague thanks to experimental vineyards set up by the Italian government during the 1930s to save grape varieties.

At the Antica Masseria Venditti, this Barbera – a very particular grape – was replanted and cultivated and given the nickname Barbetta (Goatee) because of the shape of the grape.

The estate also cultivates other varieties that have been brought back like Grieco di Castelvenere and Cerreto, as well as the common local varieties Falanghina, Piedirosso, Aglianico, Olivella and Montepulciano. All the vineyards have been organically farmed for over 20 years.

The Antica Masseria Venditti paid attention to natural resources and environmental protection long before it began trendy. In fact, in Gambero Rosso’s first Guide to Italian Wines, published in 1987, the estate was singled out for its “organic production” and this before organic farming was regulated in Italy in 1991.

Annual production today is less than 80,000 bottles and for a few years now they have been making some wines without sulfites.

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