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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| Campania's wine appellations - Copyright of Federdoc |
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