Investing in the area’s future and potential: the new cellar of Re Manfredi in the Vulture

In one of the most historic areas of Italian wine, such as the Vulture, a casket that preserves history, but also a factory that looks to the future and to experimentation. It is the new cellar of the Re Manfredi estate (an investment of around 5 million euros, from what WineNews learns, ed), a cellar in Basilicata of the Gruppo Italiano Vini - Giv, the Italian wine giant (with 15 wineries in Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily), that “has always believed in the potential of the Vulture area, as well as the potential of all of Basilicata, a Region of ancient traditions that is now also well suited to modern hospitality”.
As testifies the foundation of the winery, already in 1998, and the important investment in the new avant-garde structure decided in 2020, and officially baptized in recent days, in the presence of the leaders of the Basilicata Region, who supported the project, such as the president Vito Bardi and the Councilor for Agriculture, Alessandro Galella, as well as Marianna Iovanni, mayor of Venosa, a town famous for being the birthplace of the Latin poet Horace, and where the Tenuta Re Manfredi is located. It is one of the most significant names in the Vulture area. “Following the extensive excavation work, a one-of-a-kind structure was built from the ground up in the area, which includes a crushing line with grape selection, new presses and vats in wood and steel, and small containers that allow the separate vinification of grapes from different vineyards in order to preserve their unique characteristics”, according to the Gruppo Italiano Vini/Giv.
Today the structure also boasts a vault containing 1,600 bottles of historic vintages, dating back to 1998. The new underground barrique cellar at a depth of 7 meters houses 200 barriques for refining Aglianico as well as alternative containers such as amphorae, clayver and oeufs de Beaune used to test different winemaking techniques. The cellar also has a photovoltaic system for self-production of renewable solar energy”. The estate’s vineyards are located between 420 and 600 meters above sea level and cover 100 hectares at the foot of the dormant volcano that dominates the plateau with its 1,300-meter height. The lava and ash of the Vulture volcano combined with soil rich in clay, calcium, nitrogen, and tuff creating a one-of-a-kind terroir in the Mediterranean wine scene. The main vine of Basilicata is Aglianico which Re Manfredi interprets in three versions: Taglio del Tralcio, Re Manfredi and the superior Vigneto Serpara, a cru produced from grapes grown in the municipality of Maschito in a vineyard of only 6 hectares. Three excellent wines that will satisfy the most discerning and curious wine enthusiast. However, Re Manfredi also produces white wine from unusual vines for Vulture, such as Traminer and Müller Thurgau, which the area’s unique microclimate allows them to cultivate with great success.
The work of the new cellar, explains the Gruppo Italiano Vini - Giv (which, with 466 million euros in turnover, is at the top in the Italian panorama, contributing significantly to the 698.5 million euros of the parent company Cantine Riunite and Civ, as reported here), was accomplished thanks to the contribution of the Basilicata Region, which strongly believed in the project so that Aglianico can reach ever wider horizons and establish itself at the top of international fine wines.