Selvanova ‘Terre del Volturno’ Sparkling Rosato 2022

The vibe: Located in Campania, Italy, Selvanova is dedicated to advancing and providing social services in their region, symbolized by the raft in their logo. In fact, the beautiful painting on their label was made by a young painter trained at the artistic lab at the Aquilone Rehabilitation Day Center, a mental health cooperative. The colorful settlements depicted in the label line the river of the Volturno, the namesake for the cuvée. Selvanova is home to olive trees in addition to vines, all grown with a philosophy of low intervention sustainability.

The winemaker: Selvanova was founded in 1997 by Dr. Antonio Buono. The property, located in Castel Campagnano in the central part of Campania, was once a Buffalo farm. The entire property is over 100 acres with about 25 planted to grapes. In addition to winemaking, they press their own olive oil with olives grown on the property, make their own cheese from animals they raise, and grow a variety of different fruits and vegetables. The view from Selvanova’s hillside vineyards includes Monte Matese Mountain Range in the east and the Monte Taburno Range in the west. Their 25 acres of vines slopes gently downward from winery facility towards the banks of the Volturno river. The river provides a unique microclimate for the area, keeping the summers cool and the winters mild.

The geeky details: The grapes are destemmed before a short maceration period of a few hours leading to the wines beautiful dark pink hue. The fermentation is done without the use of commercial yeasts in stainless steel tanks and aged for 4 months. After 4 months, the wine is bottled with the original must added so the secondary fermentation can take place in the bottle.

Serve: With a chill.

Food pairing: You could go so many ways with this! Class it up with some lobster rolls? Charcuterie? Valentine’s Day in bed breakfast wine? Prosciutto pizza? Of course Campania is known for seafood, this would go great with a clam pasta or calamari.

Album pairing: Pellegrino & Zodyaco - Koinè