Wines from I Borboni

History

I Borboni grew out of the Numeroso family's vineyards in Lusciano, near Aversa in the province of Caserta. By the late 1700s the family owned about 20 hectares trained in the old local way, with vines climbing living poplar trees, and they sold the grapes. In the early 1900s they supplied Asprinio grapes to the Buton company, around 100 tonnes a year, with smaller amounts going to Cirio and to French buyers.

In the early 1970s a Buton director persuaded the family to move to modern trellises. A crisis at the end of the decade cost them their Asprinio buyers, so they began trying to make sparkling wine from it themselves. The I Borboni brand was registered in 1982, together with a cooperative devoted to Asprinio di Aversa.

The land and the vineyards

Asprinio is a white grape of the Aversa plain, known for its high acidity. Asprinio di Aversa gained DOC status in 1993, after years of work by Nicola Numeroso and his brother Raffaele to keep the variety from disappearing.

The winery itself is a family house from the second half of the 1500s in the old centre of Lusciano, built over a tufa grotto. The cousins Carlo (born 1966) and Carlo (born 1972) Numeroso renovated it and completed the cellar in 1998.

The wines

Sparkling wine from Asprinio is the heart of the range. It includes Rivolta, a lightly sparkling wine in the ancestral method, and a Spumante Brut. The Vulpis line adds still wines: Asprinio, Falanghina and Aglianico. Coda di Volpe is grown as well.

Asprinio winemaking was revived in caves dug about 15 metres below the old family homes. They keep a steady temperature and humidity and stay dark all year, which suits slow, quiet fermentation. The old method of training vines on poplars, called vite maritata, is the tradition behind Asprinio, and the family has kept the memory of it while moving its own vines to trellises.

Today

After Carlo (1966) died young, his cousin Carlo (1972) and his son Nicola run the winery. Tours of the vineyards and cellar and tastings in the caves are offered by booking. The winery describes its approach as a mix of new ideas and respect for what the family has always done.

Founded

Brand registered 1982

Main grapes

Asprinio, Falanghina, Aglianico, Coda di Volpe

Owners

Numeroso family