Cantina Giardino
The story of a local peasant family who believe in the value of their territory.
Cantina Giardino was born in 2003 in the heart of Irpinia, a land with a fortunate territorial conformation that makes it an ideal place for the cultivation of vines – it is the province of Campania with the highest concentration of vines. This has led to the creation of a great local culture and passion for wine, which are expressed with care for unspoiled nature and with a true passion for a history of traditional cultivation of vines handed down from generation to generation. Cantina Giardino, in fact, was born from two great wine enthusiasts.
However, not everyone sees only passion in a business: during the 90s, the years of the wine boom in Irpinia, many centuries-old Aglianico vineyards were destructed to make space for international grape vines designed for large yields. In this context, Cantina Giardino has tried to buy the few surviving vineyards to avoid their devastation. As the “savior” of the Irpinia vines, Cantina Giardino becomes not only a wine seller, but above all a guardian of a tradition based on respect, healthy work and passion. Cantina Giardino has become a first symbol of that local wine culture, to which every citizen of Avellino feels personally connected. This is because the Casa Giardino’s wine production system is based on the absence of biotechnology and a fermentation without the aid of sulphites: this process demonstrates respect for the environment and the health of local consumers. But there isn’t only the local level: after having consolidated its presence in the Irpinia’s area, Cantina Giardino has realized the empty space on the international market not occupied by Irpinia’s quality wines. This absence is particularly serious if we consider the quality of the Irpinia wines and the favorable terrain of the international market in this sector. In fact, in 2016, Coldiretti recorded the turnover of the most exported Italian products abroad and, in this ranking, in first place we find wine. The export of Italian wine is a rapidly growing market, and this can translate into a very big opportunity for Irpinia wines.
Noticing this opportunity, it was launched a campaign for the promotion of local culture and wine in the world, with a project financed with EU founds: the KANPAI project, a tour of nine cities in Japan, to connect with those people who believe in a natural and traditional way of producing high quality wine, in order to know new practices of this type and make their own known beyond the Italian borders.
