Casa Setaro Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2024

Looming threateningly over the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Mount Vesuvius (or Vesuvio) is the only active volcano in continental Europe, and its immediate surroundings comprise the most densely populated volcanic region in the world, with over 600,000 people living within Vesuvio's danger zone. Tending the vine in the shadow of an active volcano gives a whole new dimension to the notion of "risk-embracing winemaking," yet the same ash that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79 nourishes a host of grape varieties, marking them with a forceful and distinctive imprint of terroir. The wines of Vesuvio have a long and storied history, but local specialties like the dramatically named Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio ("Christ's Tears on Vesuvius") have fallen into relative obscurity in recent decades. 

While Falanghina often makes its way into the final blend of a white Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, Casa Setaro’s is pure Caprettone (the most adamantly local variety in their zone) planted in the commune of Bosco del Monaco at 250 meters above sea level. Vinified and aged like the Falanghina, with six months in stainless steel on its lees, it showcases the variety’s ability to deliver this zone’s volcanic essence with greater force and more blatant smoke than its peers.