Ciro is a DOC of the Calabria wine region in deepest southern Italy. Considered one of the oldest named wines in the world, with a winemaking history stretching back thousands of years, this is Calabria's flagship wine. Calabrian wines are currently held in low regard, and Ciro is the only DOC wine from the entire region to have retained prestige through to contemporary times.
Ciro wine is made in the eastern foothills of the La Sila plateau and out to the Ionian coast, in the Ciro, Ciro Marina, Crucoli and Melissa communes. The latter also produces wine under its own Melissa DOC title. The highest-quality grapes come from vineyards employing the alberello basso vine training method, meaning grapes are harvested by hand due to their bushy shape. For economic reasons many modern vineyards have abandoned this traditional process, turning instead to the espalier trellised vine training system. While espalier-trained vines are easier to harvest, the quality of their fruit is considered inferior to those grown on the alberello bush vines.
The DOC produces mainly red wine, although a limited quantity of white is also produced using Greco Bianco and Trebbiano. All Ciro Rosso is made from 95% Gaglioppo, with the remaining 5% from the white varieties Greco Bianco and Trebbiano Toscano. It may be surprising to learn that a deep red wine from the south of Italy can be made with a portion of white grapes, but this is not as unusual as it might seem; the robust reds of the northern Rhone valley (Cote Rotie, for example) are often made more supple and alluring with the addition of Viognier, sometimes as much as 20%.
The Ciro Rosso Riserva wines represent the finest that Ciro, and indeed Calabria, can produce. These are matured for at least two years before commercial release, of which six months must have been spent in oak barrels. Those bearing the term classico are from grapes grown at the very heart of the catchment area, and are theoretically superior. The wines are universally tannic and full-bodied with good structure and a high alcohol content of up to 14%. They are generally intended for consumption within five years after vintage, but it can take up to ten years to soften out the tannic structure in the more robust examples.
The close proximity of the Mediterranean is important to the terroir here, as the mass of water helps to moderate the intense heat of the south Italian summer. The name Il Mezzogiorno, meaning 'The Midday', is often applied to Italy's southern half in reference to this persistent heat. The cooling and heating of the land over the course of a summer day causes morning and afternoon breezes, which minimize the risk of fungal vine diseases and further improve the climate's suitability for quality viticulture. All of this combines to create a Mediterranean climate highly suited to quality viticulture, and helps to explain the success of Ciro wines. The terroir is not limited to this part of Calabria, however, so there is potential for Ciro's neighbors to enjoy similar success, depending on the uptake of quality winemaking and some effective marketing.
