Villa Dora is the passion of Vincenzo Ambrosio, and it is his enthusiasm for this estate and the striking wines grown here that has made the project possible.

Volcanic soils make interesting wines, and many of Campania's famous terroirs are of volcanic origin. Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano just east of Naples, and the organically farmed vineyards of Villa Dora are on the lower southern slopes of the volcano, inside the national park that surrounds it. The soil, ground-up pumice really, looks like dark grey Grape-Nuts, and the wines are strikingly flavorful and distinctive.

Another benefit of this striking soil is that it is inhospitable to Phylloxera Vastatrix, the ominously named root-louse that wiped out viticulture in much of Europe in the decades on either side of 1900. The insect can’t infect the vines, which means the plants don’t have to be grafted to an American root-stock when they are planted (the great majority of the world’s vineyards have to be grafted over.) Many tasters feel that ungrafted vines make better wine.