Wine is grown again in the gardens of the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.
After the old vineyard of Pope Benedict XVI.
had been cleared, vines are growing again on the volcanic soil at Lake Alban, this time on behalf of and with the blessing of Francis.
Italy's most famous oenologist Riccardo Cotarella is responsible for the new “papal wine”.
Matthias Rüb
Political correspondent for Italy, the Vatican, Albania and Malta based in Rome.
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The vines were planted on an area of around two hectares, the first harvest is planned for 2023. The Pope's wine will be drunk - Cotarella reckons with up to 20,000 bottles a year - from 2026 onwards. According to Cotarella, the wine from the papal gardens does not come on the market and is used by the Vatican for its own purposes. At first he had the idea of importing vines from the Middle East, such as Palestine, for the Vatican vineyard, says Cotarella. But that failed because of bureaucratic hurdles. Now vines from the region have been used. The 72-year-old star oenologist, who also advises all kinds of celebrities on viticulture, did not want to reveal which vines grow on the new vineyard.
The old vineyard of Castel Gandolfo was laid out by the Italian Farmers' Union in 2005 shortly after Josef Ratzinger was elected Pope - remembering the self-description of Benedict XVI.
as "a simple worker in the Lord's vineyard".
The Trebbiano and Cesanese di Affile grape varieties were grown in "Ratzinger's vineyard", the latter a red wine that has been at home in the central Italian region of Lazio since ancient times.
All kinds of rumors
From Benedict XVI. It is reported that in Castel Gandolfo he always prayed in front of the statue of the Good Shepherd in “his” vineyard after he was flown by helicopter from the Vatican to the papal residence, which is picturesquely situated in the Alban Hills. Benedict XVI spent many summers in Castel Gandolfo, he especially loved the view from the apartments of the Papal Palace over Lake Alban to the east and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west.
Francis does not use Castel Gandolfo, he has had most of the rooms of the residence open to visitors for sightseeing. The fact that "Ratzinger's vineyard" was cleared two years ago had sparked all sorts of rumors about a "cleansing" of the papal residence and its gardens from the traces of its predecessor at the behest of Francis. In truth, there were apparently plans to erect several buildings on the site, but they have not yet been implemented. The new vineyard is in a different place in the papal gardens than the old one. Until recently, organic fodder for livestock was grown on “Bergoglios Weinberg”.