Feudi del Vescovo

Feudi del Vescovo works around Acerenza in Basilicata, on the slopes of Monte Vulture, an extinct volcano. The vineyards occupy volcanic, mineral-rich yet poor soils at elevations reaching 800 metres above sea level.

The high elevation prolongs and slows the growing season. Vulture is consequently among the last Italian areas to harvest, conditions considered particularly suitable for late-ripening native varieties such as Greco, Fiano and Aglianico. The broader growing environment is described as harsh, with relatively mild winters and hot but breezy summers. The Aglianico vineyards lie in an isolated, unspoiled setting.

The vineyards are maintained with low vine training on the volcanic slopes of Monte Vulture. For Aglianico, grapes are harvested by hand from selected vineyards and the best fruit is selected before processing.

The cellar uses temperature-controlled stainless steel, lees maturation and, for Aglianico, a combination of stainless steel and used barriques. White grapes are chilled on arrival, gently crushed and fermented in stainless-steel tanks at 10°C; juice handling takes place without oxygen, followed by ageing on the lees in steel. Rosé must is obtained at low pressure, fermented at 10°C and matured on the lees in stainless steel.

Selected Aglianico grapes are hand-harvested, sorted, gently crushed and destemmed. A five-day pre-fermentation maceration takes place at approximately 4–5°C, followed by fermentation at 22–24°C. Maturation lasts ten months, with 60% of the wine held in stainless steel and 40% in used barriques, followed by three months in bottle.

The range is conceived around the contrasting possibilities of Monte Vulture: mineral, well-structured and savoury red wines alongside aromatic white wines shaped by hot, breezy summers. Its choice of late-ripening native grapes reflects the long growing season, high elevation and poor volcanic soils of the area.