Taste the Art, the Project of Ippolito 1845 Winery Funding Historical Restorations in Calabria

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 1/25/2023

Taste the Art, the Project of Ippolito 1845 Winery Funding Historical Restorations in Calabria

Ippolito 1845 presents Taste the Art, the new corporate social responsibility project that puts together wine, art and territory. "A project that we care about a lot, born during the pandemic, when faced with the difficulties of the period we wanted to respond with a positive and energetic vision, through a desire for carefreeness that has materialized in a line of six limited edition wines, the most iconic of the company, which we present to the public for the first time in an elegant and unprecedented wooden case," says Gianluca Ippolito, one of the three owners of the company.

Gianluca Ippolito, Frelly and Paolo Ippolito

Enrico Focarelli Barone, also known as Frelly is a young Calabrian illustrator who depicted the past, present and future of the company through his refined illustrations of light-hearted surreal moments. Frelly studied at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Rome where he took illustration with specialization in character design and editorial design. Pastel colours, simple lines and surreal worlds are the leitmotif of his conceptual illustrations where dreams and reality meet. His illustrations have become the labels of the limited edition of six iconic wines of Ippolito 1845. The sale of the boxes will contribute to raising funds to support the restoration of artistic and historical works of the area. A form of social sustainability wherein a part of the profit will go to the community wherein the wines are born.

"The challenge for me was being able to combine modernity and tradition within the labels. I wanted to create illustrations that arose from the company's labels, which maintained its recognizability, but which at the same time reinterpreted it through the language of art and conveyed symbolic elements of our territory to make the beauty and extraordinary nature even more known of Calabria," says Frelly.

The project has a fundamental point for social and territorial purposes. The sale of the boxes will contribute to raising funds to support the restoration of artistic and historical works of the Calabrian territory. "We want to give something back to the territory in which our company has been operating and working for more than 170 years. A form of social sustainability through the return of a part of the profits to the community in which we live," explains Paolo Ippolito.

The project starts at the restoration of the Fountain of the Prince, a monumental 19th-century fountain with three arches which belonged to the Spinelli princes. The monument is a symbol of the local noble wealth of the early 1800s and is one of the most precious monuments of Cirò Marina. Unfortunately, it is now in a complete state of abandonment and decay, waiting for an urgent need of restoration. At this point, the owners of Ippolito 1845 have received a consent from the municipal administration to proceed with the restorative works.

"We want to create around this fountain a green oasis open to the public but above all to give a strong signal, to show that the synergy between public and private can and must change the mentality of the territory and that this change will lead to benefits not only economic but above all social and cultural," explains Vincenzo Ippolito.

Fountain of the Prince

Ippolito 1845 is a family-run winery that has over 170 years of history making it the oldest winery that exists in Calabria today. It is located in the historic center of Cirò Marina at the heart of Calabrian viticulture wherein an agricultural estate of over 100 hectares is distributed betwixt soft rolling hills and sun-kissed planes close to the Ionian Sea. The four estates of the company are Cirò Marina, Feudo, Difesa Piana and Mancuso. It has always been the family's mission to recover and enhance the native vines such as Gaglioppo, Greco Bianco, Calabrese, Pecorello and Greco Nero. Constant researching and usage of innovative techniques have made it possible for the company to seek wines that represent elegance and territorial identity.

Gianluca, Vincenzo and Paolo Ippolito, 5th generation of Ippolito 1845

Now, the winery is being run by the fifth generation of the Ippolito family, Gianluca, Vincenzo and Paolo. For the past 15 years, after their studies at the university, they have been working on innovative methods based on the traditions that their ancestors have started. Thus, the modern story of the company is marked by their direction of the company, contributing to the transformation of the small family-run company into a large important winery.

Gianluca Ippolito, Giulio Terrinoni and Paolo Ippolito

The preview of the labels took place at one of Rome's Michelin-starred restaurants, Per Me of Giulio Terrinoni with the dishes that the chef and his team have prepared in pleasant symmetry with the wines of Ippolito 1845 utilizing iconic raw materials of Calabria like the red onions of Tropea and 'nduja.

The Pescanera Calabria Rosé 2021 is a rosé wine obtained from Greco Nero, local grapes of the territory which were softly-pressed, without any maceration resulting in bright cherry pink color with aromas of strawberries and white flowers and gives a refreshing acidity and sapidity in the mouth. With this label, Frelly portrays it with a typical Calabrian sunset, breathtaking views and carefree moments marked by the soft lights of a sunset over the sea.

The salted cod carpaccio with Tropea red onion gel and paprika was paired with the Mare Chiaro Ciró Bianco 2021 and Pecorello Calabria Bianco 2021. Frelly depicts the Mare Chiaro with dreams and memories that merge in the intense turquoise of the sea in the shade of a lighthouse softened by the glass of Mare Chiaro. It was obtained from Greco Bianco, another ancient native grape cultivated near the Ionian coast that was harvested in two different steps, the first to enhance the freshness and aromas while the second was to enhance the structure then aging takes place in steel tanks for 4 months. The straw yellow wine has an intense fruity nose of mature tropical fruits and yellow peach with a mouth that displays its Mediterranean characteristics, freshness and sapidity, ending with persistence. The Pecorello was depicted with a violet label with one sheep, a master of the scenery that is happily enjoying the spectacle of the vineyards. Obtained from the ancient grape variety Pecorello that was fermented and aged in steel tanks for four months. The resulting wine is a vibrant straw yellow with notes of citrus and minerals, a concentration and light density in the mouth, pronounced acidity in the end.

The papardelle with hare, pears and smoked Pecorino cheese was paired with Colli del Mancuso Ciró Riserva 2019 and Ripe del Falco Ciró Riserva 2014. The Colli del Mancuso label depicts all the strengths of the territory in a glass. It is a single vineyard wine of 100% Gaglioppo grapes at the Mancuso estate, the most ancient and noble vineyard of Calabria. The grapes go through a long maceration and aging in tonneaux for 12 months. An elegant and smooth wine with aromas of red cherries and plums, spices and hint of salinity with a full flavor, rounded tannins and persistent. The Ripe del Falco label instead depicts a lone elegant woman far from the roar of a summer night who's enjoying the panorama of a a starry sky and its magical atmosphere. Defined as powerful, elegant and long-lived, Ripe del Falco is and expression of the Ippolito family’s long wine tradition. It is obtained from a the best Gaglioppo vines of more than 40 years old. Ruby red with garnet highlights, complex aromas of ripe berries, tobacco, spices and dried roses with an intense and savory mouth, integrated tannins and persistent finish.

The duck breast with 'nduja and mandarin was paired with 160 Anni Calabria Rosso 2018. Frelly's illustration portrays all the elements contained in the 160 Anni: a man, grapes drying in the sun, wine, a rowboat and the cellar. Obtained from the best Gaglioppo grapes which are left to dry on mats until the end of November and then their skins macerate with wine made from freshly harvested grapes. The resulting wines are blended together then aged in oak barrels for more than 12 months. The result is an excellent vibrant ruby red wine with an intense nose of berries, dried violets, plums, sweet spices with a hint of salinity while in the mouth it has roundness, pronounced acidity and integrated tannins with persistent finish.