Many Italians living abroad miss the three big Fs: family, food, and friends. Having lived most of my life in Sicily on the Ionian coast, what I miss most about my previous life is the sea, an element I feel running in my veins and that creates a longing for a sea that, to me, is like no other for its perfume, its salinity, its history. Just like Mantonico Bianco, a wine from Calabria that, in its dry version, has aromas and flavors of fresh white flowers, jasmine, tropical fruit, citrus, and herbaceous notes; enveloping, savory, with a long and deep iodine finish. Just a sip and I feel reconnected with my past, just like returning to the womb of my land and my sea.

Mantonico Bianco is a grape variety native to Locride (where it is also called Mantonicu viru, real Mantonico), in the southern part of the Italia region, Calabria. Not to be confused with Montonico Bianco from the central region of Abruzzo or with the Guardavalle grape variety that in the city of Cosenza, also in Calabria, is called Mantonico. A naturally tannic grape, Mantonico also has a high acidity that is maintained also in hot weather. Mantonico, unlike Montonico, produces a whole spectrum of wines: from full-bodied dry to sweet and traditional method sparkling, usually under the denominations Bivongi DOC, Lamezia DOC, Savuto DOC, Terre di Cosenza DOC, and Val di Neto IGT.

This rare variety has little-known origins: maybe it was brought by Greek colonists who arrived on the Locride shores, more specifically at Zephyrion Acra (Cape Zefirio, today Cape Bruzzano), in what is now called the Riviera of Jasmins, in the 7th century BCE, or maybe at that time it had already been domesticated in the ancient Oenotria, as Greeks called what became Southern Italy. Its name is definitely of Greek origin, μαντονικος (mantonikos), from μαντις-εος (mantis-eos), which means “fortune-teller“ or “prophet“ because it was used by the ancient priests for ceremonial or propitiatory purposes. Drinking plenty of this wine, in fact, caused a drunken stupor and state of inebriation and elation that generated a divination and prophecy power, so achieving a communication between human and supernatural, typical of the antique classic culture and whose traces can be found in Orphism, in the Dyonisian cults, in the orgiastic dances and rites, in the Eleusinian mysteries, and in the Roman bacchanals.

Following DNA studies, it has been ascertained that Mantonico has first-degree kinship relationships with grape varieties from Basilicata (Trebbiano Antico), Calabria (Gaglioppo, Gallico Nero, Guardavalle Bianco, Occhi di Lepre, Mantonico Nero), and Sicily (Nero d’Avola or Calabrese, Nerello Mascalese, Catarratto). For centuries, it has been confused with Trebbiano and, above all, with Montonico Bianco, so much so that only in 2014 has it been included in the National Registry of Grape Varieties, where it is highlighted that this grape variety is different from Mantonico Pinto, Mantonicone, Mantonico Russeda, and Mantonico di Verga, as well as the red grape varieties, which are genetically different and unrelated. A Mantonico grape is first mentioned in Sicily in the 13th century, and later, still in Sicily, by Cupani in 1696 and Abbot Geremia in 1836, by Count di Rovasenda, Giuseppe Acerbi, and Baron Mendola. Although it cannot be assessed that the identity with today’s Mantonico Bianco, the ampelographic descriptions seem to coincide with the Calabrian variety, which is mentioned by Pugliese in 1849 as a wine grape variety in the Ciro’ area.

Once mainly intended for export as a table grape, especially towards Northern Europe, today it is cultivated for wine production and very limitedly: in 2023, according to data, only 10 hectares, approximately 25 acres, were cultivated to Mantonico Bianco in Italy along the Ionian coast of Calabria; other data show a total of 50 hectares (125 acres). This is a hilly area characterized by calcareous clay soils, a Mediterranean climate with dry summers mitigated by sea breezes, and the air is filled with the aroma of jasmine and citrus blossoms.

Following the Greek tradition, the grape is trained mostly as alberello, although in the newer plantings, the spurred cordon training method is also used. Its bunch is medium-large, with medium-sized berries with a medium-thick pruinose skin. Late-budding Mantonico has high vigor and productivity and good resistance to disease and drought. Although not considered an aromatic variety, the analysis of its molecules by Lanati and Marchi has shown that while grapes are rich in benzenoids and terpenes, which are responsible for spicy, gamey, rose-like aromas, wines have more norisoprenoids that cause floral, tropical fruit, and stewed apple aromas.

Benchmark varietal Mantonico wines are Librandi’s Val di Neto Efeso, Antonella Lombardo’s Autoritratto (a 1800 bottle production), and Statti’s Calabria Mantonico. The dry version of this wine has a firm structure with citrus and yellow fruit notes and a savory vein that gives the wine a fresh taste and easy drinkability. Perfect pairing with raw fish and Asian cuisine. Interesting blends are L’Acino’s Chora Calabria (Mantonico, Guarnaccia Bianca, and Greco) and Santino Luca’s Marasà Bianco (Mantonico and Gurdavalle). The passito, a meditation wine, version is a sweet, concentrated golden-amber nectar with intense notes of flowers, candied fruits, honey, and dried fruit, and great expressions are Librandi’s Val di Neto Mantonico Passito Le Passule, Santino Luca’s Locride Mantonico Passito, and Maria Baccellieri’s Locride Mantonico Passito. Passito is best enjoyed at the end of a meal with aged cheeses or dry pastry desserts such as mostaccioli.