ALE.P.A. Società Agricola S.r.l.

ALEPA

Wine producers

The company

With a passion for the vineyard since 1986

ALEPA is a family concern producing wine mainly from the native Pallagrello grape variety and also, to a smaller extent, we also produce extra virgin olive oil. Upon request, we welcome enthusiasts to partake in a comprehensive course on wines, viticulture and wine cellarage. We also offer similar experiences of a rural theme such as pizza making with sourdough, and cooking with a wood-fired oven. The family company was founded in 1986: the vineyard and olive groves were planted in those early years and so, our viticulture adventure began. Founded by Eugenio Riccio, these days the company is run by his daughter, Paola.

The winery

The Pallagrello, Falanghina and Greco varieties

The aim of the Alepa winery is to bring out the individual characteristics of the native grape vines, including those of the black and white Pallagrello variety favoured by us, but also the Falanghina, Greco, other white Campania region grape varieties as well as the red Cabernet Sauvignon variety. As experienced artisanal winemakers, we are able to create distinctive vintages with superb results and, at the same time, we hope to amaze the discerning consumer with a truly distinctive wine. Our outstanding wines are the result of the careful cultivation of the grapevines and the natural winemaking process needed to achieve an exceptional wine.

A little about me

A wine that reflects who I am

My name’s Paola Riccio.
In 2002 I took over the management of Alepa, the winemaking business set up by my father in our family's country house in the mid 1980s. It was a decision that radically changed my way of life: I moved into the country and started to appreciate the slower pace of life, watching the seasons come and go, surrounded by nature. It has also changed my attitude to life in general, observing nature and the wildlife in its natural habitat. I just know that today I would not be able to live anywhere else. My experience as a wine artisan has grown gradually over time, for I...

The Pallagrello grape variety

Originally from the Alifana and Caiatina area in the province of the city of Caserta, Pallagrello is a native grape variety, known since the 18th century by the name of ′pallarella′ or small ball due to the spherical shape of the grapes. The name Pallagrello refers to one of the very few Ampelos varieties which bears both black and white grapes. Once it was also called Piedimonte and was considered an excellent grape that was found on the tables of the Bourbon kings. It was part of a vineyard commissioned by Ferdinand IV of Bourbon with the legendary name of Vigna del Ventaglio, located close to the gardens of the “Royal Delight” palace of San Leucio, known then for its silk manufacturing. It was an experimental vineyard with all ten of the finest grape varieties grown in the Kingdom of Naples, the largest kingdom at the time on the Italian peninsula. The King loved the Pallagrello variety so much that he had a protected vineyard dedicated to producing. Originally from the Alifana and Caiatina...

The region

We can be found in the Province of Caserta, the city with the splendour of the Royal Bourbon Palace, in the heart of the Caiatine hills that take their name from the main centre of Caiazzo: a fascinating village with a thousand-year history, the origins of which, in fact, date back to the Osche Samnite people who inhabited this part of the region. A hilly area located eastwards a few kilometres from Caserta and the complex of various Bourbon sites now protected by Unesco, and at the great bend mid-way along the Volturno river, strongly characterizing the local landscape. An area of lush green nature, rich in biodiversity and vestiges of the past. Describing its beauty is impossible: we can only invite you to pay a visit and see it for yourself, a starting point to explore this central part of the Campania region off the beaten tourist track, but no less rich in what there is to see.
We can be found in the Province of Caserta, the city with the splendour of the Royal Bourbon Palace,...

Mission

A sensorial experience with ties to the land

ALEPA aims to please those who appreciate good wines and the good life in general, lovers of nature who are aware of the quality of food and its methods of production; they are often consumers of artisanal wines produced with minimum intervention in the cellar, without oenological additives and from grapes that come from sustainable agriculture practices. In other words, we produce for discerning customers who are not looking for a replicable standard wine, but a unique experience full of sensations, a connection with the vineyard of origin, and for those who are very much aware that the concept of low-impact agriculture is, by its very nature, less productive and therefore more expensive.

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