A rich and aromatic sweet wine to be paired with cheese, pastries but also chocolate.

I had the pleasure to try it out recently at Vinitaly (2014), the prestigious italian wine fair, the widest one in the world which take place every year in spring in Verona (read the article here). I was greeted in the hall of Calabria region (South of Italy) and some producers until I find one of them, Lidia Matera (classy calabrian producer) with a full glass of liquid I could not identify as one of her reds or whites so I asked “What are you drinking?“. She did not answered, she drove me directly in front of the stand of another winery: “Feudo dei Sanseverino”.

Chiara Giorleo at Vinitaly 2014

I told them, “unfortunately, as you know, at Vinitaly there are thousand wines and we cannot try the all of them as journalist! Let’s get right to these sweet wines you have“. And so I tried them both, one better than the other.

Feud of the Sanseverino is a small Calabrian company, they produce the foolowing native grapes: Gaglioppo, Guarnaccia, Malvasia and Moscato.

But on this occasion I dedicate my notes to “Mastro Terenzio” made of Malvasia, Guarnaccia, Odoraca, Moscato, the grapes are harvested and left to dry on racks located in controlled facilities so getting aromas of honey, dried fruit and, somehow, exotic fruits.

Feudo dei Sansas everino has about 5 hectares and is certified organic. The whole production includes Mastro terenzio, the red wine “Donna Marianna” which is a blend and the red and pure “Lacrima nera”; Then there is the famous “Moscato Passito al Governo di Saracena” the one suggested by Lidia matera, I mentioned before, remember? This wine has a fascinating history: it is an old production which iforeseen the boiling of the must. This process has required hard battles before being approved despite it were old customs that can not be deleted in any way.

In short, a traditional company, which provides a niche product like few others.