Ciro’, Calabria 2022
A Quick 2022 Vintage Report
The 2022 season was a tough one. It was an exceptionally dry year in the South, and crops were at an all time low everywhere. A dry season and low yields are a commonality this year among many wine growing regions in the world. One of Francesco’s vineyards in the hillside didn’t even produce, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. Additionally, he picked his red grapes first and the white grapes last where as usually it happens in the reverse order, starting with the white grapes. For some reason, due to the heat and strange season, the white grapes took longer to mature.
Gianni Lonetti, one of Francesco’s employees and also a vignaiolo, has vineyards along the coast, from a zone called the Pianura. These vines were rather abundant. In comparing notes with other growers in the area, it seems the coastal vines were generally more productive this year, which we figured was due to the higher amounts of precipitation, and therefore more access to water than the hillside vines. The Ciro’ DOC does allow for irrigation in emergency droughts, but your artisanal, small production vignaioli only dry farm.
We can expect lower than usual production from winemakers this year. Perhaps some higher alcohol content, but knowing it was a hot year, these winemakers and grape growers intervened earlier than usual in hopes to mitigate the high sugar levels in the grapes. For Francesco, Harvest began August 31st, a whole 2 weeks earlier than last year. Vignaioli with predominately hillside vines began picking 7-10 days later.
Where is Ciro’?
Ciro’ and Ciro’ Marina are the provinces along the Ionian coast of Calabria that make up the Ciro’ Classico DOC wine region. The DOC does allow for a plethora of grape varieties in the blends (such as Cabernet and Barbera), but most winemakers in the area work with the native red varieties: Gaglioppo; Magliocco Canino; Greco Nero (or Magliocco Dolce) and white varieties: Greco Bianco; Mantonico; and Pecorello. Check out our section on the Ciro’ DOC for a more comprehensive write up on Ciro’ grape varieties and terrain.
Supporting Small Producers in Calabria
While Sicily and Puglia have seen some major turnaround in terms of wine export, tourism, and therefore an economic boost, Calabria, especially the area along the Ionian coast, still struggles. Here, the ‘Ndrangheta (an incredibly powerful organized crime group based out of Calabria) is still strong, and lo Stato (the Italian government) does not pay much mind to the territory and citizens. The last two generations were and still are encouraged to leave the region and find work abroad. Family money is often tied up in land and property, but making a living off the land is, these days, extremely difficult and not considered a respectable job. Unless, of course, you are a huge cantina (winery) that can manage high levels of production. The zone is dominated by bulk, low quality wines, or large companies that produce millions of bottles annually. There is a small group of winemakers emerging in the Ciro’ area that cultivate their own vines and produce no more than 20,000 bottle per year, some incredibly tiny vignaioli, like Gianni, produce only 2,000 bottles. This tiny group calls themselves the Ciro’ Revolution.
Viva La Rivoluzione!
This handful of winemakers in Ciro’ not only see the value in their territory, but also actively strive to spread the Ciro’ word–they are working tirelessly to change the minds of those both at home and abroad. It’s a revolution because Ciro’ wines have never been given the opportunity to thrive like those of the North. These small winemakers of the Ciro’ Revolution live the life of a farmer: they work in the fields; deal with wild animals eating their crops; track weather patterns; and are wholly at the mercy of mother nature. Whereas larger wineries might be able to purchase grapes in the event of crop devastation, these artisanal vignaioli do not necessarily have that option. It is not glamorous, but for them, it’s rewarding.
Many of the winemakers that formed the Ciro’ Revolution left their home in their youth, encouraged by their parents to make a life outside of the unforgiving landscape and socio-political-economic situation in Calabria. They, however, finding little satisfaction in their careers as architects, consulting enologists, and engineers, turned back towards home to reinvest in the land that the generations before them endlessly cultivated.
They do much more than make wine, they create community amongst themselves and the people of Calabria. Where many wine producers in this area view collaboration and working together as competition and a distraction from their own business efforts, the Ciro’ Revolution understands that to make a difference, they must work together. It’s not just about making good organic, artisanal wine, it’s about making a Calabria that can once again be a hospitable home to its people.
Francesco and Laura of ‘A Vita are at the forefront of this lotta (Italian for struggle/battle)- they make excellent wine, pay their workers well, and provide a table where people can come together and discuss current events, new projects, and of course, vino calabrese. The younger generation of winemakers in the area credit ‘A Vita (along with Cataldo Calabretta–we’ll get you a little write up on him soon, don’t worry!) with helping them to re-imagine their life as a farmer and winemaker. They see possibility in their terrain and dare to dream again of making a life off their family’s land. Artisanal Calabrian wine is here, and once you’ve popped a bottle, there’s no turning back.
Where Can I Find the Wines?
It wasn’t easy getting the ‘A Vita wines over here. Market pressures really dictate a wine’s life, but finally, FINALLY, the wines are available in California! Currently, the only place you’ll find them aside from NYC is at Cittavino & Co.
In 2020, I lived with Francesco and Laura for 3mo. Outside of helping in fields and the cantina, I was fortunate enough to share in their dinner table discussions. Francesco relayed to me a dilemma he was facing in selling his wines. To keep it short, we came up with an idea together and he chose to produce a Rosso IGT in addition to his higher end, Ciro’ DOC bottling. The grapes are all from within the Ciro’ DOC, but since Ciro’ is still a rather unknown wine region, the thought was to make an introductory wine that still provided a true representation of the territory. The wine was received well by the NYC market. To add to the excitement, yours truly at Cittavino & Co. drew the label! It’s a proud moment to see it over here in my home state. Viva La Revolution!
Vendemmia 2022 Video
This video is just one small moment in time during this 2022 Harvest season, yet it is very indicative of what goes on during the Vendemmia–these guys are in constant motion, constantly tasting, checking, recording, and cleaning (when you don’t work with chemicals, it’s incredibly important to keep an ultra clean cantina).
The term minimal intervention is often used as a synonym for natural wine, but it certainly does not capture the essence of what it is to make a wine without additives and chemicals. Really, the term should be minimal chemical intervention as the winemaker must be ever present during the fermentation process, physically intervening to guide the juice’s journey to wine.
Synopsis: Gianni’s Rose’ fermentation had slowed down, but the there is still a rather high babo count (sugar) left in the juice. If they weren’t to take any action all the yeasts would have most likely died off, leaving high amounts of residual sugar, and therefore a sweet wine prone to flaws (sugar is great food for bacteria.)
