Cantina Giardino Orange Na 2024

Cantina Giardino traces its origins to the late 1990s when Antonio and Daniela De Gruttola began making wine with friends in a garage belonging to Professor Giardino—hence the winery's name. What started as an informal pursuit among companions became a pioneering natural wine estate when they officially launched in 2003, making them early advocates of zero-addition winemaking in Italy.

Their founding purpose remains central: rescuing old-vine parcels that local farmers could no longer maintain economically. Industrial agriculture had prompted widespread replanting of international varieties or outright vineyard abandonment throughout Irpinia. Antonio and Daniela began identifying neglected sites planted with indigenous grapes—Aglianico, Greco, Fiano, Coda di Volpe—some with vines exceeding a century in age.

The estate now encompasses approximately twenty-one hectares spread across six parcels, all farmed organically by hand. The old vines grow in traditional "alberello" fashion, trained upward like small trees rather than on modern trellis systems. Mixed agriculture persists on many sites, with olive and fruit trees sharing space with grapevines as they did generations ago.

Antonio's cellar philosophy prioritizes non-intervention. Fermentation proceeds with indigenous yeasts, without temperature control, sometimes continuing for months. Aging occurs in terracotta amphorae (some handmade by Daniela from vineyard soil), sandstone vessels, and casks of local chestnut, cherry, and acacia wood. The wines see no fining, no filtration, and typically no added sulfites. Each vintage receives a new label designed by a local artist, giving every release its own visual identity.

The "Na" cuvée represents the orange wine in their approachable "Na-Tu-Re" trilogy—orange, rosé, and red expressions designed for immediate enjoyment while maintaining the estate's uncompromising standards.

Explore more from Cantina Giardino: Volpe Rosa, Aglianico Re, Drogone Aglianico, and Fiano Gaia. Browse our best-selling natural wines for additional producers.

Irpinia lies deep in Campania's mountainous interior, a world apart from the tourist-filled Amalfi coastline. This landlocked province within Avellino is defined by dramatic elevation changes, where vineyards climb to 500 meters and beyond into terrain shaped by ancient volcanic activity and seismic forces. The 1980 earthquake devastated the area, prompting rural depopulation that left countless old vineyards abandoned—a tragedy that inadvertently preserved vines now treasured by natural winemakers.

The volcanic soils scattered across Irpinia's hillsides contribute mineral richness and excellent drainage. These conditions, combined with significant diurnal temperature variation from the continental climate, produce grapes with concentrated flavors and preserved acidity. Winters can bring snow to the highest sites; summers remain warm but tempered by altitude.

Campania's viticultural roots extend to Greek colonization in the eighth century BCE. The Romans elevated the region's status, celebrating Falernian as antiquity's most prized wine. Today, Irpinia holds three prestigious DOCG appellations—Taurasi for Aglianico, Fiano di Avellino, and Greco di Tufo—alongside numerous indigenous varieties found nowhere else. Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, and dozens of obscure local grapes thrive in these hills, maintained by farmers who never abandoned traditional cultivation methods.

The natural wine movement has reinvigorated Irpinia's reputation. Producers working old vines with minimal intervention have demonstrated that Campania offers compelling alternatives to conventional southern Italian wines. The combination of ancient varieties, volcanic terroir, and committed growers creates wines of genuine distinctiveness.

Explore our Campania natural wine collection and discover more Italian natural wines. For skin-contact enthusiasts, browse our orange wine selection.