Piedirosso 2021

This Campanian variety is found all around the Bay of Naples, sometimes blended with Aglianico, sometimes unblended, as here. (It makes up about 80% of Villa Dora’s Lacryma Christi.) It is named after the red stalks of the ripe bunches, which are said to resemble the red feet of pigeons. All of the vines at Villa Dora are ungrafted, due to the volcanic soil that comes from eruptions of Vesuvius; this is extremely rare in the world of a wine generally. (The few vineyards in France that remain ungrafted are seen as national treasures, as is Quinto do Noval’s ‘Nacional’ vineyard in Portugal.) The wine is made with a very short maceration, just a few days, followed by aging for about a year and a half in stainless steel. *** Volcanic soils make interesting wines, and many of Campania's famous terroirs are of volcanic origin. Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano just east of Naples, and the organically farmed vineyards of Villa Dora are on the lower southern slopes of the volcano, inside the