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Campania Area WinesPosted by: Paolo Last updated: May 2, 2007  The South of Italy (the "Mezzogiorno") is emerging as an exciting wine producing region of the world. Campania is one of the regions in the southern realm that of late is producing some of the most exciting wines. The Campania sub-region of Irpinia, centered around Avellino (about an hour east of Naples), is one such hotspot. This is an area of hillside vineyards that is producing wines to compare and compete with the best in the world. This growing recognition of achievement is founded on the use of local grape varieties such as Aglianico, Greco and Fiano, whose regional origins date to the beginning of the millennium. The wines acquire their uniqueness from the local volcanic soil (remember Vesuvius?) and the climate. The importation of modern winemaking technology and techniques has also helped immensely. The recent, formal DOCG (“Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita”) designation of an Aglianico grape variety known as Taurasi is a case in point. I especially enjoy red wine. New red favorites like the Aglianico and Piedirosso grape are beginning to replace my former steady Sangiovese grape fav from the Tuscan region, further north. In a few more months (116 days but I'm not counting!), I will return to “Bella Italia” and this time I plan to search for a winery or two which features “Taurasi”. In the meantime, I’m doing research on the likely “Taurasi” towns of the region. It wasn’t hard to find a likely candidate town by the name of Taurasi! Think I can come by some Taurasi wine there? Stay tuned. Paolo POST A COMMENT |
