Biography
Mastroberardino holds the record of being the oldest winery of Campania. Founded in the early 18th century, it is headquartered in 19th century cellars in the township of Atripalda. At the tiller of this historic company today is Piero Mastroberardino, son of Antonio Mastroberardino who, in the first years after World War II, with prophetic foresightedness, courageously placed his stakes on the native grape varieties of the Irpinia zone, Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico, fermenting and bottling them as pure varietal wines.
A strong tie to the tradition and values of the territory is still strongly felt at Mastroberardino, but has not prevented the house from equipping its cellars with the most up-to-date technology and from investing in research aimed at exploring the potential of “new”, but often ancient, vine varieties to be found in Campania. A strong belief in quality, which finds happy expression in the frescoed vaults of the cellar beneath which the wines age.
To work with high quality grapes, Mastroberardino owns properties in all of the major areas of Irpinia. Among the major selections, the Taurasi Radici and Villa dei Misteri offering merit special attention. The house interpretation of the only DOCG wine of the region is a expressive compendium of all the aromatic qualities of the Aglianico grape: cherries and blackberries, light, sweet spices, and, with more age, chocolate and game.
Villa dei Misteri, more than a wine, is a cultural project: the Piedirosso and Sciascinoso grapes used in the blend come, in fact, from five vineyards (Oste Eusino, Casa della Nave Europa, Osteria del Gladiatore, Foro Boario and Casa del Triclinio Estivo) located in the archeological zone of Pompei. With the permission of the Superintendent of Fine Arts, Mastroberrdino has given a new birth to the viticulture of the ancient city buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Equally worthy of note is the Taurasi Naturalis Historia, a 100% Aglianico harvested from a single vineyard site in the town of Mirabella Eclano.