Buon Anno! The writers of the Italian Food, Wine and Travel group are kicking off 2022 with a fun theme! Our host Camilla of Culinary Adventures With Camilla invited us to watch “From the Vine” and find an bottle of Aglianico.

Done and done!

I actually watched From The Vine” earlier this year. It’s a charming movie that tells the story of a burnt-out corporate executive who up and quits his job with a Canadian car manufacturer to return to the village of his birth and early childhood – Acerenza, Basilicata in southern Italy.

It’s feel-good movie that speaks to the dreams/fantasies that so many of us have – leaving the rat race behind and embracing a simpler and more satisfying life.

In this case, the story center around the main character, Marco Gentile rehabilitating family’s vineyard and making wine in Acerenza, which happens to be one of the communes in Basilicata where Aglianico del Vulture can be produced.

Aglianico del Vulture is a DOCG designation (the highest wine classification in Italy) for a tannic, full bodied red wine from Aglianico grapes grown around Monte Vulture. The latter is an extinct volcano which dominates the skyline and landscape of northern Basilicata. It is one of the greatest southern Italian wines, it has been dubbed the ‘Barolo of the South’, a nickname it shares with Taurasi in Campania.

The movie does delve a bit into the process Gentile has to endure to make wine good enough to be classified as Aglianico del Venture, but the real story is how he is embraced by old and new friends, and family in his endeavor to make wine.

In My Glass

The 2012 I Favati Cretarossa hails from the Irpinia Campi Taurasini sub-region of the Irpinia DOC in central Campania(see map below):

The Campi Taurasini DOC classification applies to wines made from Aglianico grapes grown on the Campi Taurasi (the ‘Taurasian Fields’). It aging requirements are Aglianico less stringent than nearby Taurasi DOCG, and its wines tend to more approachable when young.

Fruit for this wine was sourced from the Cretarossa Vineyard, which sits 450-500 meters (1,480-1640 feet) above sea level in Venticano – San Mango in the province of Avelllino.  After fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, it was aged 12 months in oak barrels barrique and 3 months in stainless steel.

Tasting Note

Opaque garnet color with sour cherry, plum, white pepper, leather and a hint of dark roast coffee grounds. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with vibrant acidity with firm tannins. Its flavors echo its aromas with a rustic (in a good way for me) character. 13.5% abv|SRP – $23

This is a wine that flourishes with food. I like that! And living up to Aglianico’s reputation, it needed some time to show its considerable charms. I recommend aerating for at least an hour.

Food Pairing

I paired this wine with Salsicce e Fagioli used this recipe, but substituted Louisiana Hot Links, for what I assumed were Italian Sausage (the recipe didn’t specify), because that’s what I had on hand. Additionally, I used homemade Borlotti beans rather than canned.

It was a very good pairing with the wine finding peaceful co-existence with the moderate (for me) spiciness of the sausages.

I invite you to have a look at what my fellow #ItalianFWT writers discovered about the movie and Aglianico:

• A Movie Set in Acerenza and Tumacë Me Tulë + Azienda Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture Gudarra 2015 by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Enjoying Aglianico From the Vine with Pizza Montanara by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• From the Vine: Devouring Pizza, Donnachiara Aglianico Wine, and the Movie by Our Good Life
• How A Glorious Past Can Reinvent The Future in Basilicata by Grapevine Adventures
• Mila Vuolo’s Passion for Aglianico in Colli di Salerno IGT by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley
• New Year Nibbles + an Organic PetNat Aglianico by Wineivore
• Organic Aglianico from Ciro Picariello by Avvinare
• Pairing Wine and a Movie: “From The Vine”and 2012 I Favati Cretarossa + Salsicce e Fagioli by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Why Aglianico Rules Among Grapes of Southern Italy by My Full Wine Glass
• Why Aren’t you Drinking More Aglianico? by Vino Travels

Please join us for our Live #ItalianFWT Twitter Chat January 1, 8 a.m. PT. Participating bloggers and others interested in the subject will connect via a live Twitter chat. Just follow and use the #ItalianFWT hashtag!