A TASTE OF CAMPANIA

The historical Roman wine-making traditions in Campania, and the particular terroir known in ancient times as Ager Falernus, have been rediscovered by Villa Matilde. Founded in the 1960s, the winery has been a family run endeavor which has focused on:
- culture and environment;
- tradition and innovation;
- territory and people.

Falernian wines date back to the Roman period when they were first made famous and were celebrated by the great Roman poets. Approximately three thousand years ago, here in Campania was a wine SEVERUS, FORTIS,ARDENS, that was severe, strong, burning and blazing. Legend tells us it was a gift to man from Bacco, one of the pagan gods.

This wine has endured through centuries, and today, its warm red color and intense flavors, conveys the warmth and the shades of a land full of contrasts.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the twentieth century, a devastating parasite called Phylloxera wiped out 95 % of the Falerno vineyards and the wines almost became extinct.

During the 1970s, after several years of research and helped by a team of scholars from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Naples, the lawyer and classicist Francesco Paolo Avallone identified twenty plants that were Falerno's authentic varietals.
A passionate lover of ancient wines, Avallone, through painstaking propagation worked to save a sufficient number of clones to bring Falerno back to life. He replanted the old Falernian vines on the soil of the land called Massico, were they had traditionally flourished and founded the winery Villa Matilde.
Today, his son Salvatore and his daughter Maria Ida now run the organization with the same passion.
The success of Villa Matilde, is the result of three main factors:
- a deep respect for environment;
- the great importance given to quality;
- an effective marriage between tradition and innovation.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

The wines of Villa Matilde are the embodiment of a strong tradition, because they bring back to life the ancient Falernian wine, and because they are produced paying strict attention to the needs of environment.

The ancient traditions are combined with clever and dynamic innovations, reflecting modern research and technologies (for example, the use of advanced biological techniques ).

The vineyards are densely planted ( about five thousand / seven thousand vines per hectare ), and trained through the innovative method called “GOUYOT” ( that means in the espalier way), yet the costs of production are kept low to insure quality and value.

THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY

Villa Matilde aims for excellence. The wines are not mass-produced, but are made with the intent to appeal to connoisseurs with their high standards of quality yet are within the reach of all who drink wine.

Villa Matilde had rigorously researched into the ancient Roman culture of wine and has identifies the varietals which centuries ago gave birth to the oldest wines of this land:

- the Aglianico, formerly known as HELLENICO;
- the Piedirosso, that begot the Falerno red wine;
- the Falanghina grapes, from which came the Falerno white wine.

As a result Villa Matilde has focused on preserving the past but using the methods and techonolgies of the modern era to make wines that reflect history and embody the quality of today.

THE RESPECT OF ENVIRONMENT

Vineyard management throughout the Villa Matilde estates employ minimal outside intervention and methods with low environmental impact with a careful use of organic methods to guarantee the wine's quality and wholesomeness.
Maria Ida and Salvatore Avallone never tire facing new challenges and exploring their land in search of new inspirations; the territory offers an array of aromas and flavors and treasures that reflect Campania which they interpret and offer through the various wines.