The actuality of Totò, the sacred monster of the Italian comedy, told with wine, for everyone

Creating a wine linked to the South, and in particular to Campania, and within everyone’s reach, from the Marquis to the garbage man, to mention the two protagonists of the masterpiece “A Livella”: this is how the project of wines dedicated to Totò, Antonio De Curtis, a sacred monster of Italian and Neapolitan comedy, was born, signed by Claudio Quarta Vignaiolo, one of the most dynamic wineries in Puglia and beyond, and by the descendants of Totò.
A project announced in recent days, as already told by WineNews, and officially presented today, in the Cantina Sanpaolo di Quarta, in Tufo (Avellino).
A project born “from the love for Totò, which still represents man, the Italian - Alessandra Quarta explains to WineNews - and the culture of the South.
We are winemakers from the South, and the emotion in retracing some of his works gave rise to the idea of dedicating a wine to Totò, a celebratory project, starting with his region, Campania. And since we have two wineries, one in Puglia and one in Campania, we decided to start from here, to build a path through his work and his biography, and to return the emotions of Totò also to wine lovers and lovers of culture today.
“A Livella” in 2017 was born as a red label, it was the year of the 50th anniversary of Totò’s death, then the idea was to identify the lesser-known native vines, and put them together. We chose Piedirosso and Casavecchia, which is almost a “relic” in the ampelography of Campania.
And then in 2018, from the idea of making “A Livella” not just a label but a project, was born the Totò Bianco, which accompanies Totò Rosso (6,650 bottles each), and is a blend of Greek and Fiano. From this project was born above all a friendship with the family De Curtis, and in particular with Elena (nephew of Totò, ed), with whom we share the emotions for good food and good wine, and we believe that from this passion and love for Totò can arise several projects”.
“My grandfather is present today in the life of all Italians, even in his absence, with his jokes, and continues to give many laughs, to put people in a state of serenity, of good feelings, towards their neighbors, and the table, for Italians - adds Elena Anticoli de Curtis - is the place par excellence of conviviality, joy. And then Totò was Italian excellence, and carried on the Italian excellence, especially in the South, also because he was very proud to be Neapolitan. My grandfather was not a great connoisseur of wine, those were years in which there was no wine culture, and in addition, he was born in a poor neighborhood. His art was born of hunger, and then came fame, but as far as the gastronomy was concerned, he was never a man of excesses.
However, as he said in “La Banda degli onesti”, “let’s take less, but let it be wine! Two fingers are enough for me, maybe a single finger, a little finger, but it should be a little finger of wine”. And his glass of wine, both at lunch and dinner. I come from a Neapolitan food and wine culture, I was born in South Africa where my mother opened three restaurants, I am self-taught, but the passion for food and wine has always been there, and when I met Claudio and Alessandra Quarta, I also found this way of working with love and passion, and a feeling was born that led to this project with great enthusiasm, because I know that Grandpa was treated as he deserves.
And it’s a way to bring it back to young people, with this wine that is within everyone’s reach, as it should be. A perfect synthesis in the bottle of the message of “A Livella”, one of Totò’s masterpieces, which puts on the same level a Marquis and a garbage man...