Wine is one of the costituents of the triptych of the thousand-yearold diet, whit wheat and oil. This millenial drink supports man’sway to the civilization, becoming an element of holiness for different religious models developped in the nostrum lagoon. Throughout Gaetano Cataldo’s interview, named the best sommelier of the year at the 31st edition of Merano wine festival, and student of Mediterranean Gastronomic Science course, ispossible to catch how is deep the link between the wine and the sea, without it vitis vinifera couldn’t have spread, thanks to the discoveries of enological samples perfectly preserved unearthedby the backdrops thanks to the underwater archaeology. The link sea- wine experienced by Gaetano’s double job, a sailor in the past, bring us to the symposial idea of “the sea wine coloured” and how unique is the Dionysian figure as bond between Deity and humanity. In his memories grape harvest’s activity and of making wine at home, a social action of farmer culture that nowadays isstill alive and it represents one of the ideal of productive anarchy, that keeping rituals, uses and economy of Italy at the turn of the two wars, thanks to people of twentieth- century sadly disappearedtoday. For Gaetano wine has represented not only a Proust’smadeleine so much to induce him to choose to practice sommelier art, but even food, before that a hedonistic beverage, a way to travel backwards in the history, as well as to live the differentterritories and local gastronomies. As inventor of Mosaico for Procida, a wine that celebrates Procida as the capital of culture 2022, Gaetano returns to wine a mediterranean typical aspect, the culture of giving. The bottle springs from nowhere with effort, without economic aid and funding, with the aim of honoringArturo’s small island in the form of an enological embrace from the whole Campania region to be donated in the name of Procida as a sign of hospitality and inclusion to raise funds as free-willoffering. The blockchain tecnology that characterized the bottlecontains the storytelling of all wine districts and agro-food of Campania. Makers and restaurant owners, too, contribute to itssuccess. A documentary, shot by a roman director and adopted by Mediterranean Identity, shows the procidan identity. The bottlecelebrates the art with its label, that is the result of an artisticcompetition. In conclusion, Gaetano has given it to religious and political authorities, he decides to auction it during the March of Dimes gala dinner in United States of America. Great it was themediaticity of the Mosaico for Procida, that has celebrated the love, the creativity and the intelligence of Campanian people.There were many winemakers that have feared losing their wineidentity mixed with other enological products, giving up to participate at the project but 26 companies that collaborate at the creation of the wine for Procida island have understood that as the river fear to disappear little by little it closes to the sea, becomingitself the sea, they have given up their individualism and itbecomes part of a bigger identity. Gaetano is the first sommelier welcomed by the Pope in a general meeting. He ha salso given the bottle to Saint Gennaro, creating a trascendent relation, an otherworldly gift. The anthropological aspects are evident and expressed, as the teaching of this great experience: alone you go faster but together we go further, and because the project was purely Franciscan and not aimed at profit, is not matter to generate Thought but Thought to generate matter.
Interiew by: Alfonso Pio Fortino, Daniele Anfora
Video by: Alfonso Pio Fortino
Video Editing by: Daniele Anfora
Document by: Gaetano Cataldo, Alfonso Pio Fortino
Subtitle ita/eng by: Daniele Anfora
Translation by: Alfonso Pio Fortino
MedEatResarch – Center of Social Research on the Mediterranean Diet of the University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, head by Marino Niola and Elisabetta Moro
Realized: 16/04/2023
