A Glimpse into the Wines of Campania

The wines of Campania are a great choice any time of year and especially during the holidays.  There is a beautiful array of wine selections throughout the region made predominantly of red wines from the Aglianico grape, but also a great white wine selection primarily found from the Fiano, Greco and Falanghina grapes.    

I've been meaning to write about an online seminar I attended that gave an overview of the Campania wine region led by Master of Wine, Justin Martindale, and Andrea Erby.  Let’s take a birds eye view of the Campanian wine region and it’s many native grapes. 

You may have been to Campania without really even knowing it.  If you’ve been to the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Naples, Avellino, Caserta or Salerno then check Campania off your list.  The real question is whether you indulged and visited its abundant vineyards.  The Campania wine region hosts a number of wine appellations with 4 DOCGs, 15 DOCs and 10 IGPs across 63,000 acres of vineyards found throughout the region.   

Faraglioni Rocks in Capri

The beginnings of viticulture in Campania 

The viticulture of Campania had many influences in its development starting with the Greek Hellenic culture followed by the Etruscans. Southern Italy was the center of the Magna Grecia, Great Greece, that as instrumental in the development of viticulture.  During the Risorgimento in 1861 there was a mass emigration where many of the vineyards were abandoned.  Today exists a generation of producers that are turning the wine industry around in Campania working with local grape varietals and producing unique wines on this ancient volcanic terroir.  

The Landscape of Campania 

The terrain of Campania is predominantly made up of hills and mountains with only about 15% of the land covered in plains.  As one can imagine there are many high elevations that reach upwards of 2,000+ feet above sea level.   

If you’re familiar with the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD that forever changed the landscape of the terrain, it’s no surprise that the soils are made up of various volcanic matter including ash, rock as well as sand deposits.  Along with Vesuvius, there is also a history of volcanic activity from Campi Flegrei and the island of Ischia. 

Main wine regions and grapes of Campania 

Some of the main wine areas to try are the following: 

• Taurasi DOCG 
• Aglianico del Taburno 
• Fiano di Avellino DOCG 
• Greco di Tufo DOCG 
• Campi Flegrei DOC 
• Vesuvio DOC 

The Irpinia wine subregion hosts 3 of the 4 DOCG of the Campanian wine region: Taurasi DOCG, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, and Greco di Tufo DOCG.  The Taurasi DOCG was the first in southern Italy.  Primarily focused on the Aglianico grape, this appellation owes many thanks to known Antonio Mastroberardino, whom preserved the ancient, ungrafted Aglianico vines to keep native varieties in this area.  You may want to compare the Aglianico of Taurasi against the other Campania DOCG focused on this grape, Aglianico del Taburno.   

Aglianico grapes - sourced from Consorzio Tutela Vini Irpinia

As the names Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo suggest, these appellations are focused on the respective grapes, Fiano and Greco.  Fiano is a grape that is subdued in its youth showing notes of pear and citrus, but with age these wines take on a new profile of honey with a tinge of smokiness.  Greco shows more complex fruit up front and is structured with a grippy mouthfeel.  As Greco wines age they become more nutty and tend to be oxidative.  Both of these whites have great capacity to age.  

Fiano grapes - sourced from Consorzio Tutela Vini Irpinia

The Campi Flegrei DOC is located west of Naples, Italy’s 3rd most populated city.  The name, Campi Flegrei, derives from ancient Greek translating to burning fields.  The wines to try from the Campi Flegrei DOC include the Campanian native white, Falanghina, and the native red, Piedirosso.  Some of the suggested producers from the webinar include Contrada Solandra, La Sibilla, Cantine Astroni and Salvatore Martusciello. 

Greco di Tufo grapes - sourced from Consorzio Tutela Vini Irpinia

The Vesuvio DOC is located in a circle around the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.  As one would imagine from the explosion at Mt. Vesuvius, the topsoil of this area is covered in volcanic ash and lava. Within the Vesuvio DOC sits the subdesignation of Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio.  You will also see Piedirosso produced here for reds along with Aglianico and Sciascinoso.  For the whites there is Coda di Volpe, Verdeca, Greco and Falanghina to discover.  Some suggested producers are Cantine Villa Dora, Casa Setaro, Cantine Matrone and Bosco de Medici. 

A very old picture of me at the Mastroberardino vineyards inside the ruins of Pompeii

If Campania is a wine region that is newer to you, I strongly suggest exploring these wines and native grapes in the new year.  These wines are some of the best in Italy. 

If you're familiar with the wines of Campania wines, what have been some of your favorites that you’ve discovered?

Campania's wine appellations - Copyright of Federdoc

Check out some of the wines of Campania on Wine.com.  Vino Travels may receive compensation for any purchases made to support the operations of this website.

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The Alcohol Removed Wines of Starla

I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a strong start.  This month our wine writer’s group is highlighting various wine topics of interest to start off the year.  I had yet to write about some wines I had tried that had the alcohol removed.  I know for some, January, also called “dry January”, is a challenge to refrain from drinking alcohol for the month.  With all the media focus on whether or not alcohol and wine are healthy for one’s lifestyle, I figured it was the perfect time to at least broach the topic and share these wines with you for those that want something different or a change in lifestyle. 

Personally, I have never celebrated dry January.  I have lived my life by enjoying everything in moderation.   For those that want to take on the challenge whether it’s temporary or for a complete lifestyle change I respect anyone making those efforts and decisions for themselves.   

Just like non-alcoholic wines or boxed wines, it tends to be a challenge to find ones that are really worth the purchase.  I sampled a few wines from the Starla brand that gave me a different perspective on drinks that are non-alcoholic. They would be a suggestion for those looking to remove alcohol from their lifestyle or even just to take a break for bit, but still enjoy some of the aspects of drinking wine.  

About Starla wines 

Dawn Maire, the brain behind Starla wines, was looking to create a wine beverage that aligned with a healthier lifestyle.  She partnered with the other founder, Jamie Coulter, to create Starla, a brand that represents the “inner star in all of us” to show consumers “how luminous your life can be without alcohol”. 

Starla wines take an untraditional approach to winemaking.  These wines are dealcoholized wines with natural botanicals added, inspired by Dawn’s herbal garden.  The wines showcase a feminine style with a fashionable image. 

The Starla wines are full fermented wines that have the alcohol removed via a vacuum process, which typically removes the body and flavor from a wine.  With the added botanicals it adds another dimension to these wines.   

The wines 

Although all the wines I tried were not my favorite, I thought the sparkling rosè was a close contender for my sparkling wine lovers. Plus, I love their packaging.

The Starla wines have no additional sugars and are low carb, low calorie and low sugar wines.  With the alcohol removed there is less than .5% alcohol in a glass, no different than a kombucha some may be familiar with. 

The Starla Sparkling Rosè is made from a blend of Zinfandel, French Colombard, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir grapes with gardenia and strawberry blossom botanicals.  A 5 ounce glass is only 5 calories.  Salmon color with orange highlights this wine had a fizzy bubbles with floral aromatics.  Light with the bubbles tingling the palate.  It’s fruity with notes of sweet, juicy strawberries.   If you like sweeter wines and sparkling wines this may be the wine for you to try. 

Personally I did not enjoy the Starla Sauvignon Blanc as I thought the botanicals were too heavy and the wine was flat.  The Starla Red Blend, made by the Barbera and Ruby Cabernet grapes and French lavender and thyme botanicals, was just ok.  Herbal and jammy aromatics that carried to the palate with blackberry and thyme notes.  For me I think the botanicals were a little heavier to my liking and I miss the acidity backbone. I could see this wine making a great sangria as suggested by wine friend, Jamie Evans, founder of the Herb Somm!

It seems you can purchase these Starla bottles direct through Target and maybe some other sources, but not through their website strangely.  It’s worth exploring if you’re trying to break away from alcohol while still enjoying the elements that wine brings to one’s life.  

What  is your take on non-alcoholic wines? Have you found any personal favorites?  Do you participate in dry January and what are your thoughts on wine affecting one's health? Leave a comment and let's chat.

Join the rest of our food and wine writers articles this month on a variety of topics. 

• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares "Wine and Food Pairings – exploring the logic and the science"
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares "Celebrating the New Year the Armenian Way: Ghapama and Lamb Kebabs Paired with Areni Wine from Yacoubian-Hobbs"
• Andrea at The Quirky Cork shares "Albania: A New Wine Frontier"
• Camilla at Culinary Cam shares "Xers to Zoomers: Exploring the Decline in Wine Consumption + Our Thanksgiving Wines from Tablas Creek"
• Terri at Our Good Life shares "The Unveiling of Red Wine's Hidden Health Benefits and the Surgeon General's No-Alcohol Stance"
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares "Exploring a Dealcoholized Wine"
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares "What's all the hubbub about non-alcoholic wine?"
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares "Hot Topics: A Zero Alcohol Primer"

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Top Italian Wine Blogs of 2024

As we say goodbye to 2024 I always like to reflect on what I have accomplished over the past year and to thank my readers for following me on my 11th year of blogging.  Although finding the time to continue to keep myself abreast on the world of Italian wines to share with you all still poses to be a challenge with a young family, I'm committed to always provide the most engaging and informational material to share with you all.  

In 2025 I look forward to hopefully sharing more Italian wine and food pairings and investing more time to do what I love, drinking great Italian wines and cooking.  I may even tackle a website redesign on my own, but I'm not that tech savvy so we will see.  I'm also looking to engage more with the many winery consortiums across Italy to get some great insight into these regions via interviews, etc so if you're a producer or member of the Consorzio don't hesitate to reach out.

Let's take a look at my top 5 performing blogs of 2024!

1) Italian Wine and Cheese Pairings

2) The Historic Coppo Winery of Piedmont and their UNESCO Underground Wine Cellars 

3) "Stone of the Fairy" with Tenuta Licinia's Sasso di Fata Wines

4) Chicken and Shrimp Skewers with Poggio della Dogana Romagna Albana 

5) Italian Wines Paired with BBQ 

Thank you again for all your support of Vino Travels and here is to a healthy 2025!  Cin cin!

From my family to yours, Happy New Year!

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