Arguably the most underrated is Palagrello Bianco, grown in Caserta it is certainly unknown to most consumers or even those familiar with Campanian wines. There are several other excellent white wines from Campania, which I'll cover briefly. "Falanghina works with seafood preparations and the vegetable garden, while Fiano is best with well-structured dishes, such as raw fish, meat carpaccio and pasta with legumes (such as peas or lentils)." "Greco di Tufo is a rich wine that is fine even with meats and fatty sauces," he comments. Luciano Pignataro, one of Italy's leading journalists regarding the wines from Campania and other southern regions, has several recommended food pairings for these wines. Also look for Falanghina from a small area known as Campi Flegrei, along the coast, just north of Napoli recommended producers include La Sibilla and Agnanum.Īs Falanghina, Greco and Fiano all have very good natural acidity, these are excellent food wines. The Falerno del Massico zone, one of the birthplaces of Falanghina, is home today to Villa Matilde, a producer that crafts several styles of Falanghina, both steel and oak-aged. Falanghina has very high acidity, and for years, that's about all these wines offered, as little effort was made to bring about a more complex wine.īut there has been a renewed interest in this variety and more examples these days display greater depth of fruit, offering notes ranging from pear and orange blossom in many examples from Benevento to more tropical fruit notes such as pineapple and kiwi from Caserta. This results in fruit-driven wines with less minerality than those from Irpinia highly recommended examples include “Pian del Stio” from San Salvatore and”Kràtos” and “Pietraincatenata” from Luigi Maffini, this last wine an example of a barrel-fermented and matured Fiano.Ī third important white variety in Campania is Falanghina, planted in all five provinces, most famously in Benevento and Caserta. While the local climate is quite cool, which helps preserve acidity, the soils are different than in Irpinia, which is more dominated by volcanic soils, while Salerno, especially in the district of Cilento, has more clay and limestone based earth. While Greco is primarily at home in Irpirnia, Fiano is also grown in the province of Salerno, south of the Amalfi Coast. Among the finest examples are "Cutizzi" Greco di Tufo and "Campanaro" Fiano di Avellino from Feudi di San Gregorio, "Ventidue" (22) and "Alimata" Fiano di Avellino, and "Contrada Marotta" Greco di Tufo from Villa Raiano, the Fiano di Avellino "906" from Ciro Picariello, and the "Radici" Fiano di Avellino and "Nova Serra" Greco di Tufo from Mastroberardino. While most versions of these two wines are blends of grapes from several communes, recently a few producers have specialized in single vineyard offerings that tend to have greater depth of fruit and persitence. “For some of us, Greco is a ‘fake red.’” Try the Pietracupa Greco di Tufo -in my opinion, Italy's finest white wine, year in and out -and you'll understand what Capaldo means.īoth wines have very good levels of acidity, and offer excellent aging potential, as much as 10-15 years in the finest vintages, such as 20, which were exceptional years in Campania. The depth and richness in mouth surprises everyone.” Continuing, Capaldo expresses a thought shared by other producers in Irpinia. This explains the minerality and the strong concentrated personality of the wine. “Greco grows on chalky mineral soils and is characterized by very low yields and a very delicate skin of the grape. “Greco di Tufo is different than Fiano di Avellino as it is less aromatic, but with a bigger structure.” Antonio Capaldo, proprietor at Feudi di San Gregorio, one of the region’s most acclaimed prodcuers, agrees with Petitto about the richness of Greco di Tufo. “Fiano has a big aging potential of ten years and more, easily.”įor Petitto however, she sells twice as much Greco di Tufo, and truly loves this wine. “Fiano di Avellino is one of the most complex and elegant white wines of Italy,” comments Ilaria Petitto, proprietor of Donnachiara, an estate where both whites are produced. Despite the fact that most versions of these two wines are aged in steel or cement tanks and not in oak, these are distinct differences.
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