The Lovely Sorrentino Winery: Food for Thought by Olga Antoniadou

In my recent visit to Naples, in early October, I managed to visit the Sorrentino Winery, which is located on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius. Unfortunately, it was a couple of hours before my flight and after spending a good half hour going round and round in circles, thanks to my GPS, I didn't enjoy my visit as much as I would have liked, because it was rather hurried. Luckily, on the other hand, as Nikos and I arrived they were starting a tour of the vineyard, so we blended in with a group of Americans. 

The vineyard has a south-western exposure and reaches up to 600m above sea level, with the breath-taking Vesuvius as a back drop, and the ruins of Pompei, the city of Sorrento and Capri laying ahead in the distance. As we walked through the vineyard I was struck by the fact that it felt as if my feet couldn’t get a grip on the soil to walk. The volcanic ash, sand and lapilli turf seemed to be so light, that as the foot landed, the volcanic soil gave way. It was a cross between walking on a sandy beach and foam balls. The colour of the soil is black and ash grey.