Roberto Ceraudo is a wine producer from the Crotone province, who also runs a holiday farm and a gourmet restaurant where tourists can board and eat traditionally. He was one of the first producers who believed in the revival of rosé wine and today he produces two different versions of it.
text and photos by Massimiliano Rella
Roberto Ceraudo with his son Giuseppe and his daughters Caterina and Susi
|
All the wines produced by Calabrian company in Strongoli Marina (Crotone)
|
Among the latest achievements by Roberto Ceraudo, the well known producer in Calabria, we can count the revival of rosé wine, a traditional wine type of the Ionian coast, which has recently become attractive for its freshness, lightness and pale pink color. Rosé can be described as a light red with the freshness of a white wine. Ceraudo’s beautiful winery is located in Strongoli, close to Crotone, a short distance from the Cirò Doc zone, one of the best known Calabrian wines. The rosé produced by Ceraudo, is bottled with the Val di Neto Igt designation, under two labels: “Grayasusi Silver Label" and “Grayasusi Copper Label”. Both are made from pure gaglioppo grapes and with a short maceration period of only 3 hours; gaglioppo is an indigenous red berry grape variety, with a lightly colored skin. The Silver Label rosé is also aged in barriques for 6 months. "One characteristic of these wines is that they are produced with a method similar to white wines" explains Ceraudo, who, in addition to the winery and the oil mill, also owns a gourmet restaurant, the Dattilo, recommended by leading restaurant guides.
Dattilo estate vineyards in Strongoli Marina (Crotone)
|
The Grayasusi was first released for its 2004 vintage. The 20-year-old, hillside vineyards, where the grapes are grown, yield 80 quintals per hectare. The wine is pale pink in color, with intense and persistent scents and you can drink it as an aperitif or during the meal, paired with white meat, fish, seafood and traditional semi-mature cheese from Crotone. Ceraudo produces other interesting wines: the red “Petraro”, from a blend of gaglioppo and cabernet sauvignon; the white “Imyr”, a monovarietal Chardonnay with distinctive aromas; the white “Petelia”, a blend of greco and chardonnay, delicate and with a slightly bitter final note. After the success obtained with the barrique-aged rosé, Ceraudo started to explore the world of passito, a type of sweet wine from semi-dried grapes, and produced the “Doro Bé”, from pure magliocco, another native grape variety of Calabria.
The Dattilo estate is managed by Ceraudo, together with his children Susy, Giuseppe and Caterina. Today Dattilo covers 60 hectares (20 hectares of vineyards, 38 hectares of olive groves, 2 hectares of citrus groves), and produces wine and organic de-stoned extra virgin olive oil. Since 2004 the family has owned a gourmet restaurant, offering Calabrian and Mediterranean cuisine, reinterpreted by chef Francesco Rizzuti, who comes from Potenza, a town in the nearby Basilicata region. The à la carte menu is based on seasonal, fresh, high quality food: mushrooms, fowl, cold cuts from a breed of black Calabrian pigs raised in the wild and plenty of fish. The wine list, in addition to the Ceraudo labels, includes a selection of Italian and Calabrian wines. Tasting menu 60€. Info www.dattilo.it
|
