The origins

Sorseggiando un bicchiere di Cretazzo
l’immaginario mi porta su quel dolce pendio
ricoperto di terra forte, sapientemente faticata dal canuto contadino.
Luogo in cui di buon mattino, guardando ad oriente,
vedi la palla di fuoco elevarsi dalla fitta vegetazione
e, quando è alta in cielo, dopo mezzo dì,
ti prende la voglia di sederti sul legno della pergola antica.
Dopo aver favorito un gustoso spuntino,
all’ombra dei tralci dell’aglianichello in fiore,
inebriandoti del suo profumo simile al gelsomino,
soddisfatto ti lasci andare ad un pacato pisolino.

FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

The origins of the relationship between the Spiniello family, the cultivation of grapes, and the production of wine are lost in the mists of time: it was “the father’s father’s father” who first grafted cuttings of Aglianico into the historical Carrara vineyard and who produced the first “Cretazzo“.

Since then, each and every member of the family, from the oldest to the youngest, has taken part at least once in the fascinating process of transforming grapes into wine.

However, it was with Sergio that starting from the second half of the 90s wine became our business. In fact, in 1997 there was the first institutionalized grape harvest under the “Cin cin s.r.l.” brand – later purchased by the Spiniello Sergio agricultural company and transformed into the current Crypta Castagnara cantine – and in 1998 its first appearance on the market.

From that moment, the initial 3 hectares of vineyards have expanded into 15 and the number of labels – initially only including Aglianico and Fiano – has increased to 8.

Taurasi docg; Fiano di Avellino docg; Greco di Tufo docg; Falì – Irpinia Falanghina doc; Cretazzo – Irpinia Aglianico doc; Cretazzone – Campania Aglianico igt; Cretarosa Briosa – rosé spumante Martinotti-Charmat; Chantosa – Irpinia Falanghina white spumante Classic method.

Nowadays, managing the Cantina together with Sergio, there is Chiara: father and daughter, together they carry on with pride and responsibility their winemaker’s heritage; keeping in mind their history and traditions but with a look forward, open to innovation and improvement.

A complex name, with deep meanings

The brand we have chosen for our Cantina is perhaps not the easiest to remember, but it contains a series of significant features evocative of our territory and, therefore, of our origins.

Crypta, or Cave, recalls the etymology of Grottolella, a town built on hills under which several cavities are located; Castagnara, refers to the emblem of our village, in which a chestnut tree rooted in the ground is imprinted, symbol of an area once rich in chestnut groves.

Finally, the thistle represented in the logo refers to the nickname attributed to our family: “I Cardone“. Mythical stories are told about the origins of this nickname. It would seem that at the beginning of the last century, the Vicar of the Curia of Benevento, finding himself in a heated debate with Sergio’s great-great-grandfather Domenico Spiniello, at the end of the confrontation, told him: “your surname is Spiniello, but you sting more than a thistle!“.

Our friends and relatives can confirm that having a prickly character is in fact a characteristic passed down from generation to generation, it’s in our DNA!