In the Park of the Royal Palace of Caserta, the “Vineyard of the King” belonged to the Bourbons

Vineyards are not all the same. Some have the good fortune of being set in unique and wonderful landscapes, just think of the rows of Sangiovese that furrow the hills of Tuscany, others have the merit of having built new and breathtaking panoramas, as happened over the centuries in the Langhe. And then, there are vineyards which become part of unique stories, such as the one of Venissa, in Mazzorbo Island, Venice, recovered by the Bisol family, or Vigna Barberini, the project of wine-archaeology in the Archaeological Park of Colosseum which took its first steps just a few weeks ago. Or the “Villa of Mysteries” of the Campania brand Mastroberardino in the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. Even the Royal Palace of Caserta, the royal palace wanted by Carlo di Borbone, King of Naples and Sicily, in 1750, whose project was entrusted to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, has its own vineyard. In 2018, the former director of the Reggia di Caserta, Mauro Felicori, entrusted Tenuta Fontana with a hectare of land in the Bosco di San Silvestro, which is precisely part of the Reggia Park. The winery of Petrelcina, in the Sannio region, planted a vineyard of white Pallagrello and one of black Pallagrello, autochthonous vines of the Caserta area very popular until the end of the nineteenth century, from which were produced the wines preferred by Borbone family. Almost disappeared with phylloxera, Pallagrello is today the protagonist of the full recovery of “Vigna del Re” (King’s Vineyard), the ancient Bourbon vineyard cultivated in organic farming which is getting ready for its first, historical harvest. The result, fruit of winemaking and refinement in terracotta amphorae, will be an Igt Terre del Volturno, which will be marked by the Royal Palace of Caserta.