Wines from the Italian islands

In addition to the two major islands, Sicily and Sardinia , which alone represent two of the most interesting regions of Italian wine both for the presence of many native vines, and for the quality of their production, our coasts are characterized by the presence of small archipelagos . Groups of islands, sometimes tiny, with unique pedo-climatic peculiarities, particularly favorable to the cultivation of the vine. From the Tuscan archipelago to the Pontine archipelago , from the islands of the Gulf of Naples , to the Aeolian and Egadi islands, each island represents a unique terroir. Their geological nature, often of volcanic origin or in any case very particular, gives the wines a typically territorial face. Even more than on dry land, the islands, by their very nature, have jealously preserved the oldest autochthonous vines or particular clones of more widespread varieties over the millennia, avoiding fashions and easy standardizations, which in other places have decreed the success of the most famous international vines.

Beyond the differences in latitude and morphology, the common feature of the small Italian islands is the presence of a Mediterranean climate , warm, dry, always very windy and constantly mitigated by the sea breezes. Sun, light and good temperature fluctuations are the basis of their wine production, which often takes place even in still uncontaminated and rich in biodiversity environments. Their small size also kept alive the ancient artisan tradition of making wine. Almost all companies still manage a few hectares of vineyards at the family level, cultivated with extreme care and dedication. Due to the limited availability of lands and the prevalence of rocky coasts, the vineyards are often found on terraces with dry stone walls or in uncomfortable positions, which allow only manual processing, synonymous with particular attention and high quality of the grapes, still harvested exclusively by hand, only when fully ripe. The presence of this type of vineyards did not make it necessary to renovate the plants according to the logic of mechanized agriculture, while preserving a precious heritage of old vineyards of extraordinary quality. In addition to centuries-old vines , typical farming systems have also been preserved, developed over the centuries and particularly suitable for the grape-territory combination. For all these considerations, wines from small islands represent an invaluable wealth, made of small jewels with unique characteristics. Small productions, autochthonous vines and ancient craftsmanship , are the values that make you want to discover these extraordinary wines, not only during the holidays.