Azienda – Fattoria Pagano

Grapes and men from southern italy

Fattoria Pagano

Fattoria Pagano was born in 2001 from the passion of Antonio Pagano for the world of wine. Antonio Pagano is a chartered accountant, he is a special person, deeply in love with his land. The vineyards are located in Casale di Carinola, on two terraces where you can enjoy an indescribable panorama; from this place you can glimse the isles of Ischia, Procida and the Gulf of Gaeta. Fattoria Pagano has vineyards of Aglianico, Piedirosso and Falanghina which were planted in 2002, 2003 and 2004 near the preexisting old vineyards that product local varieties of white and black grapes for 70 years. The vineyards are located at a height of 270-300 metres above sea level, behind the extinguished volcano of Roccamonfina and 5 kilometres from the sea as the crow flies. The high temperature-range excursion recorded between the day and the night ensures particularly fragrant wines.

THE HISTORY OF FALERNO

A s the legend handed down by Silio Italico goes that the Falerno wine was a gift of Bacco, the Roman god of wine, to the inhabitants of the Ager Falernus for rewarding their hospitality.Bacco descended on Monte Massico where met an old farmer; his name was Falerno and invited Bacco to rest in his hut. Falerno was poor and humble, but he wanted offer to the god all the best he had: milk, honey and cheese.

Bacco was moved by so much generosity, so decided to change a cup of milk in an excellent wine to thank the old farmer. Falerno drank it and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found his plot of land covered by vineyards which produced the Falerno wine from that moment on. Actually the history of Falerno wine is less mythical, it reveals an accurate work of farming which since the III-II centuries B.C. has improved this wine up to be an optimum product eulogized by poets like Catullo, Marziale and Orazio.

The viticulture of Falerno is really ancient, it's dated back to the year 800, when the Euboea Chalcida colony founded Cuma, but its name is more "modern" because it's dated back to the II century B.C. After the founding of Rome (154 B.C.), arrived a lot of slaves in this place; they had big experience with viticulture, so their work increased the request for the Falerno. The Ager Falernus got crowed with rural villas, family-run farms dealing chiefly with olive oil and wine.

OUR FALERNO

T he composition of the soil is mainly vulcanic, in it we can find pozzolanic ash, little lapillus and stones which were amassed on the border of the cultivable fields. Thanks to the vulcanic, tufaceous and calcareoussoilwe have a good potential ageing and a good minerality which can limit the use of sodium bisulfite. Clay can stop water and leave it slowly to the roots, so our vineyards don't need any irrigation system.

The grape growers who want to deal with Falerno have a big responsability towards history; Fattoria Pagano is aware of this one and approaches Falerno in full compliance and deference.We want to work hard and put effort into the production of Falerno. Nowadays , such as 2000 years ago, we want to product an optimum wine, using the same farming methods and the same care of ancient people.