Gismondi Cerreto Bianco Campania 2021

Press 4 Mix/White • November 2023 Direct Press Selection

Anabel and Antonio Gismondi have only been making wine since 2018 but the Gismondi family has been cultivating grapes, olives, and vegetables without the use of pesticides or herbicides for many generations. Antonio befriended Massimo Marchiori of Partida Creus when he was living in Barcelona, and with his guidance he began making wine from his family's grapes back in Campania, and they stopped selling their grapes to the cooperative. In just a short time they have quickly been championed by natural wine lovers all over Italy. The family had about three hectares of vines a few hours from Naples in Cerreto Sannita at about 350 meters above sea level. Antonio purchased another two hectares in 2021 to take their total to five hectares, all farmed biodynamically.

There are wines that are popular in the US but not in their home region, and vice versa. Gismondi's wines are extremely popular in Italy but are catching on quickly in New York. It's not hard to see why when you taste them. Cerreto Bianco is Malvasia di Candia with four days on its skins and zero sulfur. The texture from the skins is combined with ripe, juicy pear fruit, dusty dried flowers, and a salty backbone. It's a fabulous wine with a complex mixture of layers and a boisterous, freewheeling charisma. Jonathan Kemp