Our land
Terrae Tiferni and the Matese Park
Terrae Tiferni lies in the town of Gioia Sannitica, at the foot of the Matese National Park, with vineyards spread between Gioia Sannitica and Alife.
The Matese also gave the winery its name: “Terrae Tiferni” literally means Lands of the Matese. It comes from Tifernus Mons, the name Livy used for the Matese when he wrote about the wars between the Samnites and the Romans. We chose it to make our beautiful land known.
The story of Pallagrello
“Here, first of all, I draw the sweet Pallagrello that Monticello distils from its vines. Here I fill the glass, and while it steams and sparkles, trembles and springs, this spirited liquor of fine taste, I turn my face to you…”.
These are the words the poet Nicolò Giovo dedicated in 1729 to Pallagrello, a noble and ancient wine.
Poets were not its only admirers: Pallagrello, the main grape of Terrae Tiferni with its 2.5 hectares, was the favorite wine of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies, w
ho even preferred it to French wines. The King cared so much for this wine that he decided to plant, in what was then Piedimonte d’Alife (today Piedimonte Matese), one of the largest and most impressive vineyards in the whole Kingdom. It covered 9 hectares in the Monticello area, near today’s Piedimonte Matese hospital.
How much the Bourbons valued these vineyards is shown by the stone tablet dated 1775 placed at the entrance of the vineyard, warning citizens that crossing it was strictly forbidden, on pain of punishment.
As further proof of his preference, Ferdinand IV gave this wine a place of honor in his “Vigna del Ventaglio”, the fan-shaped vineyard behind the Royal Palace of Caserta, in the San Leucio estate he had built in the mid-eighteenth century. In the same years other sources praised it too: the geographical dictionary of 1759 wrote of the wine of Monticello: “The wines of this district are excellent, both white and red, and are among the best in the kingdom for their quality and nature, and for the pleasing sensation they awaken on the palate. They go by the name of pallarelli, and are highly prized at banquets.”
The wine of Monticello was preferred to the wines of Vesuvius for its bold, fruity flavor, admired for its small round berries (some writings call it pilleolata, from the Latin for little ball) and cherished for its taste.
This is why Pallagrello was among the gifts the King offered his guests, one of the most celebrated wines at receptions in the Royal Palace, and one of the treasures of this land handed down to the present day.
