Aversa Asprinio is a wine whose production is permitted in the provinces of Caserta and Naples, and in particular in the municipalities of: Aversa, Carinaro, Casal di Principe, Casaluce, Casapesenna, Cesa, Frignano, Gricignano di Aversa, Lusciano, Orta di Atella, Parete, San Cipriano di Aversa, San Marcellino, Sant'Arpino, Succivo, Teverola, Trentola-Ducenta, Villa di Briano and Villa Literno, in the province of Caserta, and Giugliano, Qualiano and Sant'Antimo in the province of Naples.
The wine has been awarded DOC recognition, which requires the use of at least 85% Asprinio and a maximum of 15% other local white-berried grape varieties.
Its origins are distant and uncertain: Etruscan, Greek, or French? Perhaps, however, the credit for first giving this area its enological value should go to Louis Pierrefeu, cellar master of Roberto d'Angiò, who chose this area to produce sparkling wines. The training system was unique: the vine shoots grew upward to 15 meters, resting against the poplar trees present in the area; this system is called Alberata Aversana and some producers still maintain it, allowing these green giants to rise like a natural barrier.
How does one harvest grapes so high up? Easy – call in the spider-men! This is no failed joke; that is truly what the men suited for this task are called. Armed with personal ladders – narrow and long, crafted with a pointed "tail" designed to be driven into the ground for stability – they scale the heights. The men on the ladder lower "o panaro" (the basket) to the "ground crew," who empty it and send it back up, typically using a wicker basket.
The Asprinio grape clusters are yellow-green, and thanks to their distance from the ground they are not influenced during ripening by the heat reflected from the soil – which is probably why they retain a high level of acidity and that characteristic sharp note.
Asprinio is a SPECIES of vitis silvestris that produces dry wines, tart and thirst-quenching, with a pale straw color and slight greenish reflections, with intense and fruity aromas.
It can be vinified as a still white or as a sparkling wine.
Asprinio is best served fairly chilled; both in its still version and in the "Angevin" variants (sparkling) demi-sec and brut, it pairs well with canapés, fish dishes, shellfish, fried eel, seafood salads, mixed seafood and mollusks, and is equally suited as an aperitif partner or as a companion throughout an entire meal. Some pair it with mozzarella di bufala di Aversa, but in our view it is perfect with pizza napoletana, margherita or marinara, especially the "da teglia" style.
Veronesi described it as an "cheerful, light, lively" wine, fresh and pleasant; Mario Soldati, on the other hand, extolled it with these words: "There is no white wine in the world as absolutely dry as Asprinio: none whatsoever. Because the most celebrated dry whites always include, in their more or less intense and more or less persistent bouquet, even the faintest hint of sweetness. Asprinio does not. Asprinio barely has a scent, and almost of lemon: but, in return, it possesses a total, substantial dryness that cannot be imagined unless one tastes it... What a great little wine!"
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