THE LAND OF THIS WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nvineyards rise above a mountains chain, which dominates the whole Valley of Crati<\/em> river, and extends its view to the\nGulf of Taranto<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wide is the horizon, always of a temperate climate, often subject to the gust of strong winds. Here lies one of the most beautiful villages in Italy: Altomonte<\/strong>, a municipality in the province of Cosenza, which represents a rare jewel of nature, history and art. Its rich cultural heritage is clearly visible in the splendid architecture of its historic center, in the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione<\/em>, the greatest example of Gothic-Angevin<\/em> art in Calabria or in the Norman castle of 12th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nprevious name of Altomonte<\/em> (its\ntoponym) is Balbia<\/strong>, perhaps a\nPhoenician voice deriving from Baal<\/em>,\nwhich means “lord” and “divinity”; most likely the village\nwas originally moved to the Esaro<\/em>\nriver, where, in the Larderia<\/em>\ndistrict, the remains of a Roman villa dating back to the 1st century AD have\nbeen found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In\n1065 the town of Altomonte is mentioned as Brahalla<\/em>\nor Brakhalla<\/em>, coming from the Arabic\nhypothesis “blessing of God<\/em>“.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ntown, besides Balbia, was called Braellum<\/em>\nor Bragallum<\/em>, by King Robert the Wise<\/em> of the Angevin dynasty, or according to others\nby Pilippo Sangineta<\/em> in 1337 the name\nwas changed to Altofiume<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But even this name was not lasting, since Queen Joanna I<\/em>, also of the Angevin dynasty, gave her the name of Altomonte<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n HISTORY OF BALBINO WINE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Balbia<\/em> (alias<\/em> Altomonte) was known to the\nancients for one thing in particular: his\nwine<\/strong>. The city became more celebrated in antiquity by reason of its\ngenerous wines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Plinio<\/strong> counting the\nmost celebrated wines of Italy, did not exclude those of Babia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Athenaeus<\/strong> calls this\nwine generous, and truly austere [\u201cVinum\nBabinum generosum, et admodum austerum, et semper se ipso melius nascitur<\/em>\u201d;\nAth. Deipn. Lib. I], and wants the Bimblina<\/em>\nvine to be born here, which was transplanted to Syracuse by the first King Poli<\/em>, a native of Argo Greco, so\nthat the wine made from this grape by Siracusans was called Polio wine<\/em>. According to these\nhistorical sources, therefore, the Balbino\nof Altomonte<\/em> would even appear to be the ancestor of the Moscato di Siracusa<\/em>, born from the same\nvine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In modern times, we find it among those \u2018luxury wines\u2019 of Calabria together with the Provitaro Bianco<\/em> (compared to the Chablis<\/em>), the Calabrese Rosso<\/em> (compared to Bordeaux<\/em>), the Malvasia<\/em>, the Moscato Giacobini<\/em> and the Moscato Diavolone<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Explore our products, coming from CALABRIA. Order the food and beverage products that allow you to explore the Mediterranean diet of a remarkable region. Surrounded by two seas and adorned with pine forests, mysterious villages, natural habitats, and rich biodiversity. Discover handcrafted delicacies that embody the soul of the land: sun-ripened fruits, premium olive oils, bold wines, artisanal cheeses, and traditional cured meats, all crafted with passion and authenticity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A FAMILY AND AN INDUSTRY: GIACOBINI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Altomonte, between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, the family of Giacobini<\/strong> were active, a noble family that became a renowned company for the production of fine wines, liqueurs and vermouth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Balbino Bianco <\/strong>was one of their best products; in 1889 he won the gold medal at the National Wines Fair; then, Ciro Luigi Giacobini and his son Francesco gave birth to a real industry, one of the few then existing in the province of Cosenza<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nindustry of Giacobini<\/em> family gave\nrise to a period of great economic development of the territory, the factory\ncreated work for dozens of workers, reaching over 200,000 bottles a year, and\nexporting all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fratelli Giacobini Company<\/em>\nof Altomonte (CS) was located in the eponymous Palazzo Giacobini<\/strong> in Altomonte, today home to the Hotel Barbieri. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nactivity has survived thanks to the Sciarra\nbrothers<\/strong> and their actual brand Moliterno<\/strong>:\nin the company museum set up in a completely renovated patronal house, the\nSciarra family still tells of the Giacobini Company through objects, equipment\nand documents, private and not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Effectively,\nwhat was the grape used by the Giacobini for their Balbino Bianco<\/strong> (the standard Balbino white wine) is not crystal\nclear, nor whether it was that of which the sources speak or a mixed grape\nvariety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nany case, the Farneto del Principe farm in Altomonte called Balbino one of its\nwines, made from white Greek and Malvasia grapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A RARITY: BLACK BALBINO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nis also a Black Balbino<\/strong> in\nAltomonte, called in dialect ‘mparinata<\/em>:\nit is a late-ripening vine (in the first and second decade of October), with a\nmedium-large bunch, conical in shape, fairly long and compact but sometimes\nsparse and with a peduncle medium-short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nwine coming from this grape medium-small, ellipsoidal or short ellipsoidal, is\na red wine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The skin is thick, very pruinose<\/em> (from this the term “mparinata<\/em>\u201d, that is” floured “) and blue-black. The pulp is not very firm, pleasantly sweet and rightly acid. <\/p>\n\n\n The\nBlack Balbino grape prefers little expanded forms of cultivation such the\nsapling and is a rustic vine, not very sensitive to adversity and to parasites.\nIt was also recovered in Cir\u00f2 Marina<\/strong>,\nwhere it is used in the wine making and is attested from the mid-1800s; once it\nwas used as a table grape, as well as to make wine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today,\nalmost disappeared, it gives grapes that come together for winemaking with\nother locales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 11.11.2019 “Balbino” wine is the ancient white wine of Altomonte. Discovering such mysterious Balbino means re-discover the ancient wine of Altomonte (Cosenza) handed down from Roman authors and that in the last century, thanks to the Giacobini Company, became one of the ‘luxury wines’ of Calabria. THE LAND OF THIS WINE The vineyards rise above … Continue reading Balbino, the ancient wine of Altomonte<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[67,13,15,16,19,22,23,24,27,28,68,91,29,30,37],"class_list":["post-2818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-calabria","category-gastronomy","category-wine","tag-ancient","tag-authentic","tag-calabria","tag-calabrian","tag-culture","tag-export","tag-food","tag-foody","tag-gastronomy","tag-healthy","tag-history","tag-italiantaste","tag-italy","tag-mediterranean","tag-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2818"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4235,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions\/4235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Balbino-Altomonte-1024x768.jpg\")
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