Cirò

The rules say today's Cirò descends from an ancient wine called Krimisa, a name probably taken from the Greek colony of Cremissa where Cirò Marina now stands. They add that Cremissa had an important temple to the god of wine, that Krimisa was given to victors at the Olympic Games and that Milo of Croton, a six-times champion, valued it; these are told as tradition and not documented in the rules. From the sixteenth century the wine is described as part of the prosperous farming of a 'Calabria felix'. To renew the old tradition, Cirò was served as the official wine of the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. The DOC was approved by presidential decree of 2 April 1969, and the rules were last amended in 2025.

The district lies at the northern tip of the province of Crotone, on the Ionian coast and its hill hinterland up to the first slopes of the Sila. It covers about 20,000 ha, some 25 km along the coast and more than 10 km inland. From the shore the land rises to terraced surfaces west of Punta Alice, then to regular, gently rolling hills, and finally to steeper conglomerates and sands inland. The whole area lies on Pliocene sediments over a Paleozoic crystalline basement, with local conglomerates at the passage to the Miocene and, near the villages, varicoloured clays.

On the hills, sandy or conglomeratic soils are shallow to moderately deep, with signs of waterlogging within 50 cm and some soluble salts; on old river terraces the soils are strongly weathered, with a clay-enriched horizon, moderately deep and subacid. Rain falls mainly in autumn and winter, most in October and least in June. The climate runs from subhumid to subarid, with a strong summer water deficit.

The rules attribute the wines' character to hilly land and exposures that make the area ventilated and bright, and to the texture and chemistry of the soils. In all types they find mainly fruity aromas of berries and stone fruit, with floral notes typical of the grape. The red is ruby, more or less deep, with violet reflections, turning garnet in the Riserva, with a pleasant, delicate, intensely vinous nose. The rules call Cirò one of the typical, native wines of Calabria, made with traditional techniques that have since been modernised.

The red and rosé need at least 80% Gaglioppo. Other red grapes suited to Calabria may make up 20%, but Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot no more than 10%. The white needs at least 80% Greco bianco, with other white grapes up to 20%. Maximum yields are 11.5 t/ha for red and rosé and 12.5 t/ha for white, and no more than 70% of the grapes may become wine. The red may be sold from 1 June of the year after the harvest; a red Superiore aged at least two years from 1 January after the vintage may be called Riserva. The certification body publishes the denomination profile and its control documents.