Campania

History

Campania has always been a source of fine wines for the ancient Romans, and in Latin literature a large number of different and high-quality types of Campanian wines are listed. The famous sentence that Horace uttered to Maecenas “You usually drink Cecubo and Calenus, but in my cups no mixes or Falerno nor Formiano” provides, in a few lines, the four most important wine names of those times.

Territory

Campania is 35% mountainous, 51% hilly, and 14% flat. The soils are very different depending on the area and altitude. We find calcareous or volcanic soil characterized by high potassium and phosphorus concentrations. The climate is temperate and mild even in winter, with hot, dry summers. The region can count on more than 40,000 hectares of vineyard, with many beautiful ones located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, the islands of Ischia and Capri, the Sorrento Peninsula, in the province of Caserta (Falerno del Massico DOC), Benevento (Taburno, Colli del Sannio and Valle Caudina). Campania’s first DOC was created in 1966 for Ischia, then in 1970 for Greco di Tufo and Taurasi, and in 1973 for Solopaca.

The most important red grapes varieties include: Aglianico, Piedirosso also known as “Per ‘e palummo” (Pigeon Foot), Sciascinoso. White grapes include: Biancolella, Forastera, Coda di Volpe Bianca, Falanghina (of which there exist at least three varieties and still more biotypes), Greco, Fiano Asprinio, Roviello, Caprettone.