5 days ago
Italy's Secret Southern Wine Region Ready To Steal The Spotlight
TNow, the coastal town of Cirò Marina and its hilltop, historic counterpart Cirò Superiore, are moving to shine the spotlight on both the area's prestigious wine culture and its archaeological and natural attractions. Merano WineFestival Calabria
Under a canopy of bamboo canes, vintner Paolo Ippolito pours glasses of his Mare Chiaro DOC and Pecorello IGT wines to taste along with local cheese and fennel flavored salami. A fresh breeze arrives from the nearby Ionian Sea. 'From now on, for four months, the weather will remain like this,' he says.
This is the secret to the wine of Cirò, a historic area of vineyards in the region of Calabria, Italy's deep south. It is also a draw for the predominantly Italian tourism that arrives here for summer holidays by the sea.
Now, the coastal town of Cirò Marina and its hilltop, historic counterpart Cirò Superiore, are moving to shine the spotlight on both the area's prestigious wine culture and its archaeological and natural attractions.
The hilltop village of Cirò Superiore. Merano WineFestival Calabria
This year, the town hosted the first edition of the Calabria version of Merano WineFestival, an event founded by Helmuth Köcher that has been held in the northern Italian town of Merano since 1992. The Calabrian sister festival hopes to become an annual fixture, highlighting both the push within the wine sector to valorize local products and the territory in general to bring international visitors to the area.
With a clear, calm sea and waterside restaurants, Cirò Marina satisfies beachgoers while Cirò Superiore is an old-world, lively town crowned by a castle and encircled by picturesque wineries. Here's how to spend a weekend in Italy's up-and-coming wine tourism destination.
Until roughly 20 years ago, Calabrian wine received little recognition from other Italian regions, and even less internationally. But recently, forward-thinking generations of vintners have pushed to put the region's wine on the map by highlighting in particular its idiosyncrasies.
When the ancient Greeks arrived at this point of the Italian peninsula, they brought with them grape varieties and christened the area Enotria, meaning land of wine.
Still today, Calabria's wine production is based on hyperlocal, ancient varieties, making it completely unique. The characteristics of the land are also hugely influential, from the marine terraces that give wines an intense minerality to the steep hillside buffeted by breezes that ensure freshness and acidity. Winery hopping from the sea to the hills
These landscapes also mean a weekend wending your way between wineries is a great pleasure. Start your day with a dip in the clear, cobalt Ionian Sea at Punta Alice. There's a vast pebbled beach and clubs that rent sun loungers.
If you want to spend an extended time at the sea, head to Aquarama in Cirò Marina and grab a table for lunch, during which waiters bring platters of crunchy fried calamari rings, delicate squid salad and zingy pickled anchovies. That's followed by a seafood soup with a rich tomato sauce and little strands of spaghetti.
Head to the beach clubs at Punta Alice for tasty seafood. Rebecca Ann Hughes
From there, head inland along untrafficked roads lined with blooming oleander, passing vineyards, olive groves and gorse-covered hillsides.
Head to the Librandi winery, where you can learn about their scientific research into the ancient grape varieties of the region, 200 of which grow in a special spiral-shaped vineyard. You can then take a tour of the winery, followed by a tasting of their wines. Alongside excellent Cirò DOC and Melissa DOC whites, Librandi produces a delightfully fresh Rosaneti Brut Rosé using the Charmant method. Visit the ancient village of Cirò Superiore
The opening night of the Calabrian Merano WineFestival was held in the hillside village of Cirò Superiore, the ribbon strung across the narrow arched entrance gate. The pocket-sized piazzas were filled with wine stands and a stage with a DJ.
Find history and culture in Cirò Superiore. Rebecca Ann Hughes
Visitors can seek out wine history at the idiosyncratic museum in the town. It combines three exhibitions: rooms showcasing traditional home interiors and agriculture and winemaking tools; an exhibit dedicated to the Cirò-born inventor of the Gregorian calendar Aloysius Lilius; and a wine museum.
Don't miss a dinner at Borgo Antico restaurant, where you sit on a terrace overlooking the hillside strung with fairy lights. You can sample flavor-packed local dishes like sardelle—sardines with red pepper paste—and oil-drenched sweet green peppers. Sleep in a historic borgo transformed into a scattered hotel
To end the day in style, head to Borgo Saverona for the evening. Originally a village, it has been transformed into an events space and scattered hotel where Puglia-esque creamy stone buildings are arranged around a square.
The 16 rooms and three suites are elegant and light-filled, with typically terracotta flooring and cream wood furnishings. There is a swimming pool, and the whole property is encircled by 20 hectares of vineyards and ancient olive trees. How to get to Cirò
The nearest airports to Cirò are Crotone and Lamezia Terme. International flights from destinations in Europe and further afield fly here.
If you are coming to Cirò from another Italian destination, you can also take the train. As Italian booking sites can be difficult to navigate if you don't know the language, try using Omio instead. The multi-modal travel booking platform combines thousands of travel partners and four modes of transportation: trains, buses, ferries, and planes
With the Omio app, travellers have all their tickets in one place. Other benefits include 24/7 customer support, Seat Maps and live updates.
