I’ll
be not long, allow me just a few words to thank the
Italian Ambassador for his kindness. Ambassador thank
you for hosting this prestigious event for the launch
of The Julius Caesar wine collection.
I’m
the producer of Mamertino wine, whose grapes have
been growing since centuries
in the NW side of Sicily alongside the Thirrenean
coast leading from Messina to the old town of Tyndaris.
My vineyards still grow on the slopes of the hills
overlooking the beautiful scenery of the Aeolian Islands
and Milazzo Peninsula. More precisely in the old town
of Santa Lucia del Mela.
I’m
a producer but I’m also an amateur du vin, a
wine lover and passionate drinker. A very curious
drinker. I want to know what kind of wine I’
m drinking, its origin, its history. Since I was young
walking alongside my family’s vineyards I used
to ask my workmen a lot of questions about the vines,
the variety of the vines, the shapes of the leaves,
wine processing and wine quality. In fact I was interested
if they knew of Mamertino’s history and if they
were aware that the wine produced was real Mamertino.
I remember September time, when the grapes full of
juice were brought to the pressing house. All the
surroundings at that time smelt of generous perfumes
of the must, the wine just pressed. Those are memories
well recorded in the CD of my hectic life.
Before me, in that same area, the Mamertini people
were growing vines. The Mamertini were a people of
warriors installed in that area to help the Roman
army. There are copious records dating back to 289
BC when Mamertino was planted there and it was described
as a praiseworthy grapes variety for the production
of a praiseworthy wine. During Roman times Mamertino
became very famous. Mamertino was the wine chosen
to celebrate big occasions such as the 3rd consulship
of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was a great ruler
but also a fine drinker and at his table were always
served the best wines of the time. Writers had filled
many pages on Mamertino wine, Poets had dedicated
many poems to the Mamertino, Pliny the elder in his
Naturalis Historia / the History of Nature/ has made
a guide of wines and he placed Mamertino at the 4th
place in his classification of nearly 195 wines known
at the time. Yes Mamertino is an ancient wine but
at the same it is a new wine, it renews itself every
year, it is a dynamic wine which contains man’s
fuel and it is his life blood. This is the way the
Futurists described the Mamertino.
What should
we look for in a Mamertino glass of wine? Quality
goes without saying, tasting a glass of Mamertino
wine we also search for the elusive emotional response.
We look for something new, something different, we
finally look for en emotion, for new sensations. You
can be sure, believe me, Mamertino will strike inside
you. The fragrance coming out from a glass of Mamertino
wine, fruity, full-bodied, plenty of flavour and aromas
makes us dream and it takes us back to ancient times
when myth and tradition mixed together but now also
with a sense of style.
Ladies and gentlemen taste and toast, sip slowly your
Mamertino wine. Live the dream. Leave your soft, cosy
everyday existence.