It was in the 15th century when the Mustilli family, originally from Ravello on the Amalfi coast, moved inland to the plains of Benevento in Campania, and settled in Sant'Agata de' Goti establishing a farm and, among other things, cultivating grapevines. Eventually, the vineyards got neglected in favor of more lucrative crops but in the 1960s Leonardo Mustilli and his wife Marilì, decided it was time to bring back the winemaking tradition, focusing on replanting indigenous varietals on the hills around the property.
A very courageous move, in absolute contrast with the trend of the time. It was, in fact, a period of emigration from the countryside of Southern Italy towards the attractive industrial realities of the north and agricultural land in Campania was largely abandoned. It’s precisely in one of the neglected vineyards around Sant’Agata dei Goti that Mr Mustilli, in the 1970’s, propagated Falanghina from old vines and was the first to bottle it as a monovarietal wine in 1979.
Leonardo Mustilli, rightfully nicknamed “ingegnere della Falaghina” (after all, he had a degree in civil engeneering), died in 2017 and today the company is led by his daughters Paola and Annachiara. Until 2001, winemaking took place in the ancient cellars, dug 53 feet into the tuff rock that constitutes the subsoil of Sant'Agata dei Goti and located under the residence of the Mustilli family. Today, although these splendid, old cellars are still used, the winemaking has moved to a modern, efficient facility in the vicinity of the family estate.
The 13 hectares of Falanghina, Greco, Piedirosso, and Aglianico are grown on the calcareous, clay soils, with volcanic outcrops, typical of the hills that characterized the Sant’Agata dei Goti sub zone, in the heart of the Samnite Apennines.
Paola and Annachiara continue along the path traced by their father Leonardo, making quintessentially traditional wines while maintaining a strong innovative spirit, represented in their current lineup by the sparkling Aglianico and Falanghina.
