Summary
Contrada Salandra is one of the most fascinating estates in an obscure area of Campania’s Campi Flegre region. This area is tiny and is situated just north of Naples, in the municipality of Pozzuoli. This tiny area is a large super-volcano and was declared a regional park in 2003. The area of the caldera consists of 24 craters and volcanic edifices; most of them lie under water. Hydrothermal activity can be observed at Lucrino, Agnano and the town of Pozzuoli. Very small vineyard plots are planted sparingly within.
The estate was born in 2000 as an activity of organic beekeeping and production of honey, beeswax, royal jelly and propolis. Giuseppe Fortunato and his wife Sandra grew up in this area and decided to change their professions to live in close contact with nature. By recovering a few hectares of family vineyards in Licola and Monteruscello, Giuseppe and his wife also inaugurated a small wine production based on the typical vines of the area: Falanghina and Piedirosso. The constant attention to the territory and the desire to experiment have led them to also recover varieties of grapes that have largely disappeared. These are sporadic old plantings within their vineyards, and such varietals include: Ricciulella, Cavalla, Marsigliese, Colagiovanna and Coda di Cavalla.
The production philosophy of Contrada Salandra is closely linked to the wide potential of the Campania region and is based on the constant commitment to overcome its critical issues: "you need to create positive models and create a system to change things" Giuseppe likes to repeat. The key word for understanding the work in the vineyard and in the cellar is biodiversity: the activity of bees animates the vineyards, converted to an uncertified organic regime. No grapes are purchased from other winemakers and no selected yeasts are used. Fermentations are longer than most, sometimes up to 16 months longer than their peers.
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