Giuseppe Ippolito farms his family estate, a property on Calabria’s southeastern coast known as Du Cropio, or ‘doctors of agronomy,’ a moniker that nods to the many generations of growers and farmers in the Ippolito family that came before him. The ‘secret’ to Giuseppe’s ability to coax the best out of his terroir and into a bottle is all in the vineyards: located in the inner hills of Calabria’s famed Cirò DOC, a few miles from the coast, here, both elevation and oceanic influence allow cool nights to mitigate southern Italy’s long, hot days. Even so, picking at exactly the right time, during peak balance between sugars and acidity and tannin, is crucial. A week too early and Gaglioppo emerges thin and austere, a week too late and the wines quickly become overly ripe, jammy and lacking in structure or tension; this is why Giuseppe spends countless hours in the vineyards, and the results are revelatory. Comparing these wines to Nerello Mascalese on Etna or Nebbiolo in Barolo is an easy way to bridge the stylistic gap to this lesser known region, though regardless, Ippolito’s wines truly unique expressions of this sunsoaked, southerly terroir and the Gaglioppo grape that made the short journey here from Greece over 3000 years ago.