Ischia island Campania Region

ANTONIO MAZZELLA
WINEGROWER
SINCE 1940

Straw yellow color.
Floral aroma with hints of banana.
Fresh, delicate, slightly savoury taste, with the right body - The Winemaker
COLOR: Sunlight yellow with golden reflections
NOSE: Fresh tropical fruit, banana and passion fruit
TASTE: Medium bodied, good minerality and long elegant finish.

Three generations and a past full of sacrifices and commitment, this is the story of the Antonio Mazzella winery. Founded by Nicola in 1940 and expanded and improved by Antonio, the founder's son.

Experience, passion and quality...This is what you will find in our wines.
The courage and tenacity to produce wines full of the island's winemaking history.

The beauty of Ischia comes from the extraordinary variety of the territory formed by a set of volcanoes that have shaped the soil in distant eras. A magical and arcane place that brings with it ancient tales and legends, long and mysterious pages of history. Its past is uncertain, it dates back to Magna Graecia, in fact 700 years before the coming of Christ the Eubei took possession of the island bringing with them all the history and customs of Greek civilization. And it is thanks to them that in Ischia the cultivation of vines began thanks to the very fertile but irregular soil.

Three generations, a past full of sacrifices and commitment, this is the story of the Antonio Mazzella wineries. Founded by Nicola in 1940 and expanded and improved by Antonio, the founder's son. The production areas of this company are located on the southern side of the island of Ischia at about 150 meters above sea level, the roads and the conditions of the land are not the most comfortable for the cultivation of vineyards. The cultivation lands can only be reached on foot via ancient paths, which makes the care of the vines even more difficult and contributes to making these products unique. But with time and the constant commitment of the Mazzella family these areas from arid and abandoned have become flourishing and productive. The harvesting, crushing and pressing of the grapes are done by hand, after which the must is left to mature in ancient cellars dug into the soft tuff rock where it will remain until bottling.

The cultivation lands can only be reached on foot via ancient paths, which makes it even more difficult to care for the vines and contributes to making these products unique. But with time and the constant commitment of the Mazzella family, these areas have gone from being arid and abandoned to flourishing and productive. The harvesting, pressing and squeezing of the grapes are done by hand, after which the must is left to mature in ancient cellars dug into the soft
tuff rock where it will remain until bottling.

The vineyards above, the cellar below: on the island of Ischia it happens that to harvest the grapes you go down! The inclination is extreme, the terraces overlooking the sea have slopes of more than fifty percent and force the winemakers to use monorails. Even to manually transport the bunches of Biancolella and Forastera, the typical white grapes grown as low saplings on chestnut pergolas. Here the altitude comes to terms with the sheer coasts and the pine forests in competition with the vineyards, small sunny handkerchiefs exposed to the winds, gained by the advancing vegetation. Pressing and pressing are still manual , in small caves dug into the soft lapilli. The must is transported by sea in special containers placed on wooden boats, a strategic expedient practically unique in its kind.

The final product is transported by sea with special containers placed on wooden boats that move from the bay of San Pancrazio to the ancient Borgo di Ischia Ponte, where it is transferred to Campagnano, a small village in the municipality of Ischia, gently nestled at the foot of Mount Vezzi. And it is in Campagnano that the Cantina Antonio Mazzella was born and raised, a famous area for the production of the renowned Biancolella and Forastera wines. The future projects that this company will adopt will be to continue with the same commitment and seriousness the production of fine local wines, thus highlighting the natural values ​​of this land.Ischia is an island of incomparable natural beauty, rich in contrasts and colors where its millenary history has left numerous and evident traces.

Extreme vineyards, heroic harvests. It happens on the southern side of the island, about 150 meters above sea level with a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Naples up to Policastro. The emotion of telling it is given by Antonio and Nicola Mazzella, second and third generation of winemakers-men of the sea originally from Campagnano, an Ischian village nestled at the foot of Mount Vezzi. Like their father Antonio, Nicola and his sister Vera say they are proud to guard the peasant identity of the island. Cultivating the land here is a daily effort, but theirs is a tradition that knows how to dialogue with the present. Confirmation comes promptly from the customers, admirers of sips of nectar with a unique aroma and taste.

Great wines with low yields. The company's production area is ten hectares in total, scattered in small plots exposed to the south-east, which the Mazzellas with their 30 suppliers (a third of whom are family members) put together. Various labels between whites and reds, a complete selection of renowned local vines, with production almost exhausted already after having fed the island's needs. Therefore, to get to know these wines it is necessary to go there. "They are disadvantaged and difficult areas, keeping the tradition alive costs effort and commitment, and the younger generations do not understand the importance of a unique resource like our land" comments Antonio Mazzella, a small man of great tenacity, his rough hands sinking into the pressed grapes.