Dom Perignon, perhaps the best-known champagne in the world which today delights our palates with magical bubbles, owes its birth to a monk, from whom it takes its name and who discovered it way back in the 600th century in the Benedictine Abbey of Hautevillers, on the hills of the Marne . After all, hundreds of abbeys in every corner of Europe from the time of Charlemagne were not only places of prayer and meditation but real companies that often produced splendid beers and intriguing liqueurs but above all wine, that wine primarily intended for the ritual ofEucharist during mass and then to cheer the severe tables of the convents. Amanuenses but not only, the monks were researchers in agriculture and viticulture. Benedictines, Cluniacs, Cistercians, Camaldolese, Augustinians, Trappists saved many vines destined to disappear. It is still today, centuries later, that wine is produced in European abbeys. A tale of the oenological stories of Italian abbeys comes from the event "Abbey wines” held from 2 to 4 September in the cloister of the Abbey of Fossanova in Priverno, in the province of Latina.
From the Benedictines to the Cluniacs, many historic vines saved in the shadow of the convents
The event is organized by the Pro Loco of Sabaudia, by the Passione di Vino Association and by the Wine Road of the Province of Latina. In addition, they contribute to the initiative Slow Wine , Pro Loco of Priverno. Tasting tables, classical music concerts will accompany the journey of knowledge of the wines of abbeys, monasteries and convents from South Tyrol, with the presence ofNovacella Abbey, That of Muri-Gries and Valle Isarco winery who takes care of the vineyards of the Monastery of Sabiona, at thePrague Abbey - Benedictine monastery of the province of Padua – and that of Busco del Veneto; there will beRosazzo Abbey of Friuli Venezia Giulia, whose millenary vineyards are entrusted to Livio winery Felluga.
Tuscany will be present with the Badia di Passignano (Vallombrosa Abbey), whose historic cellars are used by the Antinori family and by the Monastery of the White Friars of Fivizzano (Massa Carrara); while Umbria and its link between wine and religion will be told byArnaldo Caprai Farm and from Bose Monastery, with grapes grown in the lands of the Monastery of San Masseo at the foot of the historic center of Assisi. Lazio will showcase the artisanal wines of Monastery of Trappist nuns of Vitorchiano,Abbey of Valvisciolo of Sermoneta and the wines produced in the Pontine area with the cellars that adhere to the Latina Wine Route: Sant'Andrea, Marco Carpineti, Casale del Giglio, Cincinnato, Pietra Pinta, The Nightingale Valley, Villa Gianna, Donato Giangirolami. In Campania, the Feudi winery di San Gregorio has dedicated one of its most important wines to the Goleto Abbey which, founded in 1133 in Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, saved in the Middle Ages the autochthonous Campanian vines of Tufo, Fiano and Aglianico. Also present is the Abbey of Crapolla di Vico Equense.
A master class with tasting in comparison with Burgundy wines
But in the shadow of the magnificent cloister of Fossanova a French testimony could not be missing and in fact there will be the participation of the group The Great Cellars of France, with the Francois Martenot brand, to tell the historical and cultural heritage of Burgundy, with the wines of the Hospice de Beaune. In the Sala del Refettorio of the Abbey, Friday 2 September at 20 pm, Cedric Dechelette, of the Maison François Martenot, will be the protagonist of the master class with tasting of Burgundy wines signed Hospices de Beaune. The Fossanova Abbey, founded by the Cistercians in 1208 from the monastery of Citeaux in France, a fundamental place for Burgundy wines, is the ideal place to host an event that tells the contribution of religious to the history of wine, observe the promoters of the event which will take place in the characteristic cloister from 18 to 22, and in which over twenty wineries selected with the collaboration of Slow Wine will participate.
All tastings moments of comparison will also alternate aimed at discovering the connections of this type of wine with the historical periods and cultural realities in which they were born. In addition to the meeting dedicated to Burgundy wines, two other master classes are scheduled: on Saturday 3 September at 20 pm, the producer Marco Caprai will talk about Sagrantino from its origins, linked to San Francesco, to today's international success. During the Master Class some of its most famous wines will be tasted. Sunday 4 September at 20, the producer Nazzareno Milita of the Latina Wine Road, will talk about the wines of the Pontine area, with a tasting of some of its excellences. Guided visits to the Borgo di Fossanova, entitled "When the monks create taste", are scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays edited by Slow Food Travel Monti Lepini.
