Campania Flashcards
Campania
Finest wines of Classical Italy, with volcanic soils ideal for fine wine production. Standards fell significantly; one a few producers today are seeking quality in their production.
Taurasi DOCG
Aglianico grape, thick skinned and high in acidity, ripens late with complex flavours. Produces full bodied, tannic wines with flavours of dark plum and spice. 3 years ageing, with one in cask before release is required.
Lacrima Christi del Vesuvio
Greco grape with others in blend. Range of styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling. Some red and rose also produced.
Greco di Tufo
A clone of Greco Bianco grown near the village of Tufo. Low temperature fermentation produces a fresh, aromatic white.
Final d’ Avellino
Fiano grown in Avellino. Full bodied white with flavours of hazelnuts and pears.
Falerno del Massico
Slopes of Mount Massico. A red blend with 60-80% Aglianico, 20-40% Piedirosso and Primitivo and Barbera (maximum 20%)
Campania
Region of south-west Italy of which Naples is the capital. In the ancient world, Campania was the home of some of the most renowned wines of Italy, if not of the whole Mediterranean basin: surrentine, massic, and, most famous of all, falernian. In spite of its southern location, Campania is known for its white wines, as daytime temperatures are largely mitigated by elevation in the mountainous inland (Campania boasts its own ski resorts) and its indigenous varieties, showcased in Campania’s many DOCs and DOCGs, are capable of retaining freshness and acidity in a warm climate. On the basis of its soil types the region can be broadly grouped into three parts. The volcanic, sandy soils of DOC Vesuvio and DOC Campi Flegrei (the ‘fire fields’ named by the Romans, who built thermal baths on the slopes of these extinct volcanoes) are almost in the suburbs of Naples, where the white falanghina and red piedirosso are planted on their own rootstocks as phylloxera cannot survive there. Once considered workhorse varieties, Falanghina and Piedirosso now receive serious attention, including higher density vineyards and lower yields. The DOC Vesuvio is based predominantly on Caprettone, Falanghina, and Piedirosso, resulting in white and red lacryma christi. The second soil type, alluvial sediments, prevails in the DOC Sannio on the Piana Campania Plain between Naples and Benevento. In the early 2010s, the much smaller DOCs Guardia Sanframondi, Sant’Agata dei Goti (with its own clone of the Falanghina as produced by Mustilli), Solopaca, and Taburno (its speciality being aglianico) were all demoted to subzones of Sannio, while a new DOCG, Aglianico del Taburno, was created. The third soil type is the porous limestone which typifies the hills of the DOC Irpinia. It was called tufo by the Romans (hence greco di Tufo)—incorrectly as it is not of volcanic origin. Within Irpinia lie the superior DOCGs taurasi, fiano di Avellino, and greco di Tufo, the latter two producing Campania’s most famous and long-lived whites, typified by peaches and flint, and smoky notes in aged versions. Taurasi is arguably Aglianico’s finest and longest lived expression. A large part of Campania consists of hills and mountains with myriad expositions and elevations. The higher the elevation, the cooler it is—so cool in fact that the grapes of Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo are not picked before the beginning of October, and the late-ripening Aglianico may be picked even later in Taurasi. With the exception of mastroberardino, a general focus on quality has been recent (see taurasi for more details). The third large Campania DOC, Cilento, lies 50 km south of Naples, its coastline dominated by Paestum, site of the little-known Greek temple, while its rugged mountainous hinterland is planted with olive trees and vines. In spite of its extent, Cilento produces very much less wine than Sannio, producing small quantities of Fiano and Aglianico which can be worth seeking out, especially from such overachievers as Conciliis and Casebianche. North of Cilento the tiny DOC Costa d’Amalfi, grown in Campania’s stunning answer to the French Côte d’Azur, has low-yielding vineyards clinging to any available ridge on this stony coast. Modern but very individual whites based on Falanghina and Biancolella, and reds based on Piedirosso and Sciasinoso, are produced by Marisa Cuomo and Tenuta San Francesco, while its subzone Tramonti is renowned for its many centenarian vineyards. Aglianico and Piedirosso also feature in the DOC Falerno del Massico to the north towards Lazio, its wines said to have already been appreciated by the Romans (see falernian). Curiously, a 100% Primitivo is also allowed here. While the demands of tourism have replaced the once-renowned viticulture of the island of Capri, ischia has managed to retain 60 ha/150 acres of DOC vineyards on steep terraced slopes overlooking the Mediterranean, producing small quantities of complex whites based on the local Forastera and Biancolella, notably those of d’Ambra, and minuscule quantities of red wine based on Guarnaccia (magliocco Dolce) and Piedirosso.
Taurasi
Full-bodied red from campania produced from the distinctive aglianico grape grown on 1,000 ha/2,470 acres of vineyards in a zone north east of the city of Avellino. The wine has such high levels of acidity and tannins that it demands bottle ageing, which is why it is regularly referred to as ‘the Barolo of the south’. Taurasi demonstrates the heights which Aglianico can reach in the volcanic soil which it favours (see also aglianico del vulture, produced in basilicata to the east). A total of 17 villages on both sides of the River Calore in the province of Irpinia form the Taurasi docg. This hilly terrain has a multitude of different soil types, elevations, and exposures. The left bank of the river with full southern exposition is the warmest part of the zone while the west-facing slopes have a more continental climate. In the central valley on the right bank, on calcareous soils with rock fragments, a cooler macroclimate prevails. On the southern slopes vines are planted as high 700 m (2,300 ft), harvest can be as late as November, and the wines are marked by higher acidity. DOCG regulations require three years of ageing, one of which must be in wood, and riserva bottlings must be aged for four years. By 2013 there were 50 producers of Taurasi (up from a mere ten in the 1980s) and more than 227 grape growers tending an extremely parcellated vineyard area. mastroberardino was until the early 1990s the only label on the market. Taurasi has been a hotbed of activity this century with several new estates striving for the highest quality, experimenting with organic viticulture, ambient yeast fermentations, and ageing in large casks rather than French barriques, resulting in muscular, concentrated, and complex wines which need age to develop notes of red berries, cherry, tobacco, and, often, hints of tamarind and iron. Although its two largest producers, Mastroberardino and Feudi di San Gregorio, give Taurasi some visibility, the wine arguably needs a consorzio to promote it.
Falanghina
Beneventana of Benevento province is the less common of Campania’s two distinct Falaghinas while the leafy-smelling Falanghina Flegrea of Campi Flegrei is Campania’s signature white wine grape which may have provided a basis for the classical falernian and is now the base for Falerno del Massico and Sannio docs. It produces attractive, unoaked, fragrant wines of real interest. Modern fermentation enabled producers to preserve its aromas, which gave it a new lease of life from the mid 1990s. The Italian 2010 vine census did not distinguish between the two but found more than 3,000 ha/7,500 acres in total—nearly twice as much as in 2000.
Fiano
Strongly flavoured classical vine responsible for campania’s Fiano di Avellino docg in southern Italy. Wines made from this variety are assertive but lack the aromatic lift of Fiano Aromatico, or minutolo. It is also planted in Puglia, Molise, and increasingly in sicily. The 2010 Italian vine census did not distinguish between the two Fianos but found a total of 1,376 ha/3,400 acres. Total Australian plantings had reached 1000 ha by 2012.
Greco
(which has its own DOCG for the zone around the village of Tufo), is a late-ripening Campanian white wine grape that has been shown by dna profiling to be identical to asprinio. The variety also grows in northern Puglia, Lazio, and Tuscany, and is genetically distinct from greco Bianco. Wines tend to be dry, assertive, and to have more body than aroma. The 2010 vine census notes a total area of 829 ha/2,048 acres and a smaller, separate total for Asprinio.
Campania: History
Italian wine industry settled here 3,000 years ago by the Greeks.
Nowadays, little investment and demand in the region means the region is failing to stand out for its quality.
Campania: Climate and Weather
Mediterranean climate with the sea and nearby mountains preventing temperatures to be too hot
Campania: Typography and Soils
Coastal continuation of Lazio; most vineyards by Lazio border (Falerno del Massico), around Avellino & Cilento
Mainly volcanic soils on and around the Vesuvio.
Campania: Aglianico
Thick-skinned grape, hi in acidity, early budding but late ripening that thrives at higher altitudes (400-500m hi)
Produces deep coloured, full bodied, tannic wines w aromas of maraschino cherry & violets and chocolate, dark plums flavours
