Ippolito 1845 37 Items

Ippolito 1845 is one of the oldest continuous viticulture sites within Calabria, having been established over 170 years ago when Vincenzo Ippolito first carved his initials into the stonework outside his cottage in 1845 within the vineyards of Cirò. Though the region itself was heavily dedicated to ariguclture, all wines created were consumed locally. After World War I Don Vincenzo Ippolito, wishing to continue the legacy of his grandfather, returned filled with the desires to create and innovate. His first steps were to build the first modern cellar in Cirò, and over the years the industry for wine grew in the region, leading to the birth of their first two official labels, a Cirò Rosso and a Cirò Riserva, both bottled after ten years of aging in large chestnut barrels. 

Following in their fathers footsteps, the two sons of Vincenzo, Antonio and Salvatore Ippolito, began to implement modern agriculture, with a drive towards mechanization without shrinking the value of quality. The first approaches to foreign markets begin with Germany and the United States. In Cirò in 1969 the grape varieties were identified as in Gaglioppo and Greco Bianco through the need for product specification for exporting. As the company continued to grow, the 60 ha of the hilly estate of Mancuso, in the heart of the DOC, was transformed into vineyards by planting only native varieties: Gaglioppo and Greco Bianco. 

Now the company is run by their fifth generation, and is now made up of three estates in the heart of the Cirò DOC: Mancuso, Feudo and Difesa Piana, which span across a total of 100 hectares. These estates range in in vine age from being planted in 1972-2005, and sprawl from the rolling hills to the sunny flat lands budding up to the Ionian Sea. The soils consist of sandy-silt, alluvial, and limestone matrix. The winery has not lost sight of their focus on celebrating underrated and under-utilized indigenous grape varieties, therefore the vinayards are planted to the following: Gaglioppo, Greco Bianco, Calabrese and Pecorello.