The project Grotta del Sole is currently developing and ‘fermenting'. The first ten years were dedicated to recovering the vineyard, obtaining the registered designations of origin, including many of our partners in the Register of Vineyards. 2003 marked the beginning of a new stage, aiming at quality improvement both in the vineyard and the cellar. Two prestigious consultants were called to attain this goal, Attilio Pagli and Federico Curtaz, and some of the goals have already been reached: in the 2004 and 2005 vintages we carried out a difficult selection of our partners; in 2005 we rented a farm in the town of Tufo with seven hectares of vineyards, where Grotta del Sole already directly produces Greco di Tufo and Fiano wines of Avellino; during the 2005 harvest Francesco Jr. joined the company full-time, thus enriching the technical staff's potential; in January 2006 real estate was purchased in order to broaden the winery; in March 2006 the new image of the winery was presented; this was the first restyling made since 1992; in May 2006 the Foglie di Amaltea vineyard was planted bringing the Martusciello's family vineyards to 13 hectares in the Phlegraean Fields.
The selection of our partners was not easy due to the decades-long relationships existing with many of them. However, it has brought about a clear improvement in the wine's quality, recognized by our clients, guides, and also by international competitions.
The purchase of a building and estate from Vinicole Flegrea S.r.l., adjacent to Grotta del Sole, an outdoor area of 6,978 sq metres and an indoor area of 1,360 sq metres will give us the possibility of planning a productive system perfectly on the level of set qualitative programs. Already during 2006 the vinification system of red wines was restored with the acquisition of 16 new fermentation tanks, a total of 1,300 hl, the doubling of the pressers and the adoption of a picking conveyor which will allow for further selection of the grapes delivered by our contributors. Moreover, the new fermentation tanks have a single capacity inferior to those used in the past and this will help us separate small lots of higher quality grapes.
In the meantime, we are planning a complete renovation of the plant, where the entire work cycle will be carried out, while in the current space of the company, which extends in an area of 5.000 sq metres, will be logistics. Eventually, Grotta del Sole will extend over a total area of 35,000 sq metres, 4,000 of which will be covered and used for production and logistics, including a 400 sq metre barrique cellar, and 23,000 sq metres vineyards.