The roots of wine run deep in certain places, revealing ancestral secrets with every sip. The vineyards of Calabria are one such place, where the vines delve into a distant past that comes alive in every glass. Those who have dedicated themselves to unearthing and rewriting ancient truths with passion and hard work have helped Calabria emerge as a land of wine.

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Calabria is the land of the Enotri (land of wine), a civilisation that cultivated the vine long before the Greeks arrived, and who chose this region to establish Magna Graecia, the birthplace of civilisation and wine. From here, wine spread through Italy and beyond, following different paths and crossings.

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Scholars consider this area a "genetic convergence zone," the most important centre of viticulture diffusion in the Western Mediterranean basin. It is a goldmine of biodiversity and native grape varieties that have proved critical for the development of other autochthonous varieties in southern, central, and northern Italy, following migration flows.

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Researcher Manna Crespan of CREA (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics) has highlighted Sangiovese as an excellent example, the son of Calabria, which "played a fundamental role in the development of other autochthonous varieties in southern Italy along with Mantonico (see the Autochthonous grapes section)." But this is not the end. "Another case is the grape variety Visparola, which we find in Sicily, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna with different names, and which even the Germans have discovered in an old vineyard near Leipzig, renamed Mehiweiss. Visparola may have originated in Greece and then brought to Europe through Calabria, bridging Greek, Balkan, and Southern Italian grape varieties. Visparola also gave rise to Vulpea, which in turn is one of the parents of Glera, the grape variety of Prosecco."

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Thanks to the efforts of numerous producers who work to promote the territory, many autochthonous grape varieties still survive today. Magliocco Dolce (already mentioned by Pliny) was relaunched in the are of Terre di Cosenza (see the Authoctonous Grapes section), Greco di Bianco (one of the oldest known) is proposed in a dry version by Antonella Lombardo, and Zibibbo di Pizzo has become the flagship of the young Giovanni Benvenuto (see the Our Winemakers section). Not to mention Pecorello (Cantine Elisium) and Mantonico (in purity - Cantina Le Moire), to which many producers are approaching. In short, there is still great potential, in many ways untapped.

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With the Aspromonte mountains sloping down towards both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas, Calabria has the most unique and rare characteristic of offering all the nuances of terroir, from the mountains to the high, middle and low hills. While Gaglioppo dominates in Cirò, the vineyards of the subzones of the Terre di Cosenza DOC are located on the slopes of Pollino and Sila, where Magliocco is king. "The richness of the orography, the small productions, increasingly sought after by consumers, and biodiversity, combined with investments, are determining a rebirth of the Cosenza vineyard, now represented by about 60 small producers," explains Gennaro Convertini, president of the regional wine cellar Casa dei vini di Calabria.

"In the last 15 years in Calabria, thanks to a strong awareness, young graduates, children of winemakers, have contributed to the valorization of ancient vines dating back to before 300 BC," "Some of these are at the top of the family tree, as demonstrated also by Professor Attilio Scienza. A unique heritage that the region is trying to communicate at all levels."

These objectives have also been made possible thanks to the commitment of institutions. "The history of wine has its roots in Calabria, where vine cultivation was already practiced about 2,000 years ago," explains the regional councilor for agriculture, Gianluca Gallo. "At the time of Magna Graecia, the cult of Dionysus, protector of the vine, rapidly spread, giving rise to productions that have come down to us, as happened, for example, in Cirò. Today, our land can count on excellent producers and quality wines, as certified by the successes in the last edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Hence the commitment to further increase the quality of the product and the competitiveness of companies, and to support the valorization of fine wines, so that the world does not forget a noble story and can increasingly appreciate Calabrian wines."

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