Casa dell'Orco is located in San Michele di Pratola, in the Avellino area of Campania (45 miles West of Naples). The estate is owned by the Musto family, who has been producing high quality grapes for decades. Fascinated by a nearby pre-historic megalithic structure constructed from three huge rocks (17 feet high by 7 feet wide) known as Casa dell'Orco or 'House of the Ogre', in 1993 Pellegrino Musto decided to start bottling under this proprietary name, taken from a story written by Maria Padula about the shepherd Silpa who liberated the local people from the fierce ogre Cronopa.
Since the early 1990s the winery has been modernized by installing temperature-controlled, stainless steel equipment.
Massimiliano Musto, Pellegrino's son, is the winemaker and enologist. Gambero Rosso described him as 'a giant talent' because of his varietal and terroir focus. He enjoys exploiting the unique grapes of the area and also likes experimenting with batonnage and other similar techniques.
The vineyards cover 30 hectares (75 acres) and are located between 1,200 and 1,600 feet of altitude in the villages of Pratola, Montefalcione, Lapio and Tufo. The density is high (between 2,500 and 3,500 plants per hectare) and the predominant training system is Guyot. Yields average 6 to 7 tons per hectare.
Casa dell'Orco produces the typical wines of the Avellino-Benevento district: Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Falanghina, Coda di Volpe and the Aglianico-based Taurasi, one of the few D.O.C.G. red wines from Southern Italy.
A view of the vineyards with the Sannio mountain range in the back
