Paternoster, Vulcanico, Falanghina

Paternoster is a winery in the village of Barile, right at the foot of the Monte Vulture at the southern end of the Apennines. Made from Falanghina grapes, this spectacular white is scented with lemon peel, white blossom and white apple. A rewarding palate with a broad mouthfeel and a structured palate, balanced by fresh acidity, the ageing on fine lees for five months gives added texture and complexity to the wine.

A serious and thought-provoking white that scores over 90 points with most reviewers for each vintage, this is an excellent expression of both Falanghina the grape, and the potential found in the nature of volcanic soils. 

Basilicata is a fascinating Italian region; at the southern arch of Italy's boot and straddling its toe, the region has coastline in the gulf of Taranto (the Ionian sea) and the Tyrrhenian sea. It's extremely poor as a region and has very low tourist numbers on account of its relative inaccessibility - nearly half of the region is mountainous - and the historic neglect of successive Italian governments of centuries past. In Matera for example, you can still see the Sassi, the network of caves dug into the town's rock face beneath the streets and official buildings, where, until well after the Second World War, peasant families lived with the farm animals they worked with to carve out their pitiful existence. It's undergone a resurgence of sorts, and Matera itself is a UNESCO World heritage site now, but it's a stark reminder of the difficulties that geological and political circumstances can create. The cuisine is certainly 'rustico' and a majority of wines fall in suit.

But in the north of the province of Potenza at the north of the region, bordering Campania and Puglia, there is the dominating mountain of Vulture. This volcano (yes, Italy and volcanoes again) gives the surrounding vineyards poor quality, black, volcanic soils and the indigenous varieties of Falanghina for white wines and Aglianico for reds that grow there are suited perfectly. The proximity of the mountain and the widespread context of mountains, gives altitudes of between 450 and 600 metres above sea level. It's the very end of the Apennines and though the latitude is on par with Morocco, the altitude and southerly winds maintain freshness and balance in the grapes to such an extent that these are among the last harvested vineyards in Italy each year, with collection often ending only in the second week of November. It's a bit like an unlikely diamond in a coal mine, or finding a miraculous pearl when all around there is very little else.

Try this then and be part of a very historic region and winemaking process that has roots in Roman and Greek times. Paternoster translates as The Lord's Prayer and one can imagine the supplications being made in a context such as this...