Cantine Olivella, Campania

In the last few years, volcanic wines have grown in popularity and Italy offers plenty due the presence of several volcanos, active and not. If Etna wines are now widely known, Vesuvius volcanic wines are a great alternative offering outstanding value for money due to them being still little known.

Cantine Olivella is located right at the foot of Mount Somma, in the heart of the Vesuvius National Park, a protected area that represent an ideal habitat for the cultivation of the vine, and their mission is to bring back native grapes almost forgotten.

Cantine Olivella is a family winery named after the spring known as "dell'Olivella", at the foot of Monte Somma, where in 1974 remains of a Roman’s amphorae was found, evidence that the area was already known for its wines during the Roman empire. The amphorae found bear the name of "Sextus Catius Festus" a Roman grammarian stationed in the area.

"Catalanesca, our grapes" is the slogan of the winery. Catalanesca is the winery’s flagship grape which had been forgotten and it almost disappeared, and was only recently allowed to be bottled and labelled as Catalanesca, before it could only be used in blends - this is another example of the, some time, non-sense of the Italian wine classification.

Today the winery cultivates about 10 hectares of organically grown vineyards located on the Vesuvius lava producing outstanding volcanic wines made with native grapes, from Piedirosso to Caprettone to their flagship grape and wine, the Catalanesca.

Volcanic wines have more elegance, more minerality and more structure.