Landscape of myth
At first, there is the sun, guiding the traveller through the rows of vines and showing the way, lighting it in gold. Little by little, the path brightens and opens onto ancient, unfamiliar and ever-new scenery. The spirit of the civilisation that rules these places has never faded and underlies every human action. It is a light carrying the reflections of Magna Graecia, where everything began and the heartbeat of eternity resounds.
Then comes the earth: rich, fertile and magnificent. Finally, the grapes appear, one berry after another, like a slow and endless rosary of prayers to nature and its rhythms: small violet pearls gathering in rounded clusters, carrying with them.
Climate and soils
The Ionian Sea is one of the defining elements of this area. The climate is typically Mediterranean, warm and dry, yet the proximity of the sea and the breezes rising towards the hills help moderate temperatures and create favourable conditions for vine growing. The difference in temperature between day and night also contributes to the ripening of the grapes and their aromatic expression.
The variety of soils makes the territory even more distinctive, including schists, limestone, sandstone, quartz and crystalline rocks. They are generally poor soils, often rich in mineral elements: conditions well suited to vine growing and to the development of viticulture deeply connected to its environment.
Vineyards and work
Here the landscape changes rapidly: from the Riviera dei Gelsomini to the hills and mountains, vines find different conditions that allow each grape variety to express its own character. Gaglioppo, Greco nero, Nocera, Castiglione and Calabrese nero for red wines, together with Greco bianco, Guardavalle, Malvasia and Mantonico for whites, belong to a wine-growing tradition rooted in the history of Ionian Calabria.
But this territory is not made of climate and soils alone. It is also work, experience and knowledge handed down through time. From the second half of the twentieth century, local viticulture entered a new phase of development, thanks above all to the restoration of vineyards and the work of small family-run businesses.
Landscape and identity
The identity of Bivongi DOC is born from the meeting of land, grape varieties, climate and human work: a small but strongly distinctive wine heritage, shaped by the landscape and culture of Ionian Calabria.
To travel through the Bivongi DOC area is to encounter a Calabria of hills, mountains, villages, archaeological remains and Ionian coastline.
The Stilaro Valley, Bivongi, Stilo, Caulonia, Monasterace and the other towns in the area tell of cultures and traditions that have overlapped over the centuries.
This is the landscape in which Bivongi vineyards live: a territory to discover through wine, as well as through its places, history and communities.
