2025 Martusciello - Penisola Sorrentina DOC Gragnano Otto Uve (750ml)

The Martusciello family has been central to the history of Gragnano, the lightly sparkling red of the Sorrento Peninsula. In the early 1960s the family helped write the rules for the wine, setting the allowed grapes and the boundaries of the zone. Their Grotta del Sole winery, founded in 1991, brought back neglected Campanian wines, including Gragnano, Lettere and Asprinio. After Grotta del Sole closed in 2014, Salvatore Martusciello and his wife, Gilda Guida, started their own winery in Pozzuoli in 2015. They call their bottlings “wines of persistence.”

Ottouve means “eight grapes.” Martusciello is the only producer still using all eight native varieties named in the Gragnano rules. Piedirosso, Aglianico and Sciascinoso make up at least 60% of the blend. The rest is Suppezza, Castagnara, Olivella, Sauca and Surbegna, rare grapes most wine drinkers never come across. The vineyards are in Gragnano and Pimonte, on loose volcanic soils full of lapilli. The grapes are picked by hand from late September to mid-October and macerated on their skins for five days before a gentle pressing. Following tradition, the wine is bottled in late December and develops its sparkle in the bottle.

Brilliant ruby with violet glints, the 2025 shows wild strawberry, raspberry and sour cherry with rose, violet and Mediterranean herbs. It’s light and fresh, with soft tannins, a savory mineral streak and a clean, faintly bitter finish. Serve it chilled with pizza Margherita, salumi or ragù.