THE VINES

THE PALLAGRELLO

This is a vine that produces, unlike most, black and white grapes, with small and compact bunches. It was only produced in the province   of 'Terra di Lavoro' (now the province of Caserta), and especially in the Alifane areas (communes of Alife, Piedimonte Matese and a few others), in the Caiatine areas (commune of Caiazzo and neighbouring areas) and in the north Casertan communes (Conca della Campania and neighbouring areas) at the borders with the province of Frosinone , where we find traces of the pallagrello in some communes, such as Roccasecca, that were once part of the ancient 'Terra di Lavoro'. The grapes of this vine, according to some authors, correspond to the grapes known by the Romans as the 'pilleolata', used for the production of the Falerno and, in many areas, still cultivated with the very ancient system of the 'passo succi' (a very tall, wide tent that allows the passage of oxen for ploughing).

It was highly appreciated by the Bourbon Royal Family, who offered it, together with the big foreign wines served at their dinners, to their guests of honour; the respect for this vine was such that Ferdinando IV di Borbone forbade anybody to pass through - under pain of severe sanctions - the 27 modius vineyard (equivalent to about 9 hectares, as the Casertan modius is 3333,333 square metres), situated in the area Monticello in the commune of Piedimonte Matese.

THE CASAVECCHIA

The origin of this vine, that produces bunches of red grapes so big that they look like   dessert grapes, is a true mystery; it was only found in the vineyards, cultivated with the system of the high 'espalier', of the communes of Pontelatone (ancient Trebula), Formicola, Liberi, Castel di Sasso, and in some vineyards of the neighbouring communes (Piana di Monte Verna, Caiazzo, and a few others). According to local tales, its name comes from the fact that a small plant was found   near the ruins of an ancient Roman house (hence 'casa vecchia' - 'oldhouse') - after the big epidemics of the nineteenth century, had destroyed the majority of the vineyards. Some authors believe that we can trace this vine back to the one producing grapes for the famous 'trebulanum' wine (from the Roman city of Tremula) that the Romans liked so much; in fact according to Plinio il Vecchio (Pliny the Older), the Trebulanum was produced and vinified precisely in the geographical area of the four communes of Pontelatone, Formicola, Liberi and Castel di Sasso. The local families loved this vine very much and many of them were so possessive of the wine they managed to obtain from it when they vinified it in absolute that they sold wine derived from pressing other grapes, blended with only a little 'casavecchia', to the 'townspeople'.

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