21/01/2024
This is one of such moments: something important is happening.. The main hall in the castle of Taurasi is filled up to the last place, the entire community is gathering, the city council, the mayor, other local authorities, the prefect, the police, representatives of the army, the pastor and other invitees. It commemorates the fact that Mastroberardino's Taurasi Radici riserva 2016 has earned a position among the top-5 of best wines of the world (Wine Spectator). Again this is proof that the wine Taurasi is finally finding its deserved place among the most important wines in the world.
A sacred silence falls when Piero Mastroberardino takes the floor. He commemorates his father, Cavaliere Antonio Mastroberardino who managed the company through many difficult years and who believed firmly in the importance of local Italian grape varieties in a period when that was not common in Italy (in South Italy, there was not much awareness of preserving indigenous grapes in that period). And he gives an interesting exposure with interesting details of the long track record of commerce of the Mastroberardino family company.
It was also to celebrate the fact that a square in the village Taurasi was named after the late Cav.Antonio Mastroberardino, father of Piero Mastroberardino. The procedure of giving a name to a square is very bureaucratic and involves local authorities and the prefect. It was a striking moment to witness the entire community praying the Lord´s Prayer after which the mayor took away the curtain.
The sacred moment was followed by an impressive tasting of 3 Taurasi riserva wines of Mastroberardino company, commented with great flair by Daniele Cernilli and Luciano Pignataro. A wonderful moment of celebration and dedication to this great wine. It is the result of the historical effort of the Mastroberardino family without whom there would never have been a Taurasi DOCG. Thanks to Antonio Mastroberardino ́s foresight grape varieties like Aglianico, Greco and even Fiano have been preserved in a period when this was not usual. This celebration of Taurasi DOCG is an important message for a poor region in South Italy where many people have emigrated in the hope for a better life, believing that this area gives no possibilities. It shows that Irpinia is able to offer products of the highest excellence that can compete with the best that the world has to offer.
