The mineral-rich contribution of Mount Vesuvius is one reason why the Mastroberardino vineyards in and around Pompeii make such distinctive wines.
Campania -The World's Original VinelandBy Tom MarescaThe newest wines from Italy are its oldest wines of all. In fact, its brightest, most fashionable production zone is what one winemaker calls "the world's first DOC." Wines that had their last moment of glory under such dubious epicures as Caligula and Nero are now back in the spotlight. Learn the local grape names - aglianico, falanghina, fiano, greco and piedirosso - because Southern Italy is, at long last, rising again.
"The south of Italy is one of the most exciting wine areas of the world, and Campania is the most exciting part of it," says Lucio Mastroberardino, winemaker at Terredora, and representative of one-half of the now-divided clan that has for decades spearheaded quality winemaking in the region. "This is the place that will produce wines to compare and compete with the best in the world," he asserts. "And it's going to achieve that primarily with local grape varieties such as aglianico, greco and fiano, rather than cabernet, merlot and chardonnay."
The new attention to the wines of the Italian south, and especially those of Campania, is a major part of Italy's just-in-time rediscovery of its glorious gastronomic history. Only a few years ago, it seemed like large chunks of its culinary heritage were about to be lost forever. A sign of the times: McDonald's had opened in Rome and in Florence. Where Campania at mid-century still preserved almost 400 varieties of grape vines, fewer than 50 could be found in the 1980s, and there would now probably be fewer than that had it not been for the devoted labors of preservationists such as the Mastroberardino family and the Avallone family (the latter of Villa Matilde). But the good news is that Italians are now reveling in their native traditions and indigenous grapes, and Campania is at the crest of that wave.
"In the past few decades, Italy tried to make big changes in its viticulture and made choices that were typical of newcomers in the world of wine production," says Piero Mastroberardino, the scholarly son of Antonio Mastroberardino and an increasingly active partner in the family firm (the two men represent the other half of the clan, and are the stewards of the distinguished winery in Avellino). "Those actions caused a loss of some of the typical character of Italian wines and propagated instead an international taste and style." In the past few years, he says, the trend has changed significantly: "All of Italy's most important wine regions have undertaken important research programs to rediscover their native varieties and to produce wines that are a true expression of both their territory and culture.
"Campania found itself in an ideal position because it had never really abandoned its ancient viticulture," he continues. "For this reason, its wines shot up quickly in the consideration of national and international opinion makers." Or, as Vincenzo ("Enzo") Ercolino of the red-hot Feudi di San Gregorio succinctly puts it, "Campania is Italy's most exciting rediscovered wine region."
Almost 3,000 years before Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, and a full 2,000 before Leif Ericsson's mistake, the Greeks discovered the true Vineland - Southern Italy -- a world they accurately named Enotria, or Wineland. It remains so today. Campania, the Italian province centered on the ancient Greek settlement of Neapolis - the New City (Naples, to us) - is again a new-found land overflowing with rare and wonderful grape varieties and the luscious wines they yield. It's not just an abundance of indigenous grapes that makes it so special. The region possesses a variety of highly differentiated terroirs and microclimates that give its wines a distinctive and inimitable character.
Beyond the lovely seacoast that is so well known to tourists, there are also the Apennine slopes - the mountain range that bisects the country from north to south like a spine - and numerous spent volcanoes (plus the very lively Mount Vesuvius) and layers and layers of mineral-laced, volcanic soils. The climate is hot, but prime vine land basks in the Mediterranean sun at every conceivable altitude and exposure, swept by cooling updrafts from the sea and even cooler downdrafts from the Apennines. Because of the region's volcanic history, the soils are threaded with traces of iron and sulfur, copper and chalk, and a hundred or so other minerals. These are the same qualities that made Campania what Nicolas Belfrage, in his book, Brunello to Zibibbo, describes as "the vineyard of the Romans, home to the Imperial grand cru Falernian" - the latter now revived, after a sleep of many centuries, as Falerno, red and white.
The best wines of Campania derive still from the ancient varieties introduced by the Greeks and revered by the imperial Romans. And although fiano and falanghina may not be as familiar to connoisseurs as are cabernet and chardonnay, they could very well be the forebears of those worldly varieties. More important, these enduring grapes are capable of yielding wines just as good and often more distinctive.
Just this April, ceremonies at Pompeii and Rome honored Campania's patriarchal legacy. Antonio and Piero Mastroberardino (father and son), presented the first wines vinified within the walls of Pompeii in nearly 2,000 years. The festivities were symbolic of the wheel coming full circle, and at least that small part of the vanished city and of Campania's past glory lived again.
The entire Mastroberardino family has pioneered the preservation of native grape varieties for decades. Thanks to its efforts, once-endangered varieties, such as aglianico, are thriving throughout Campania. In recognition of the Mastroberardinos' expertise, the Italian government entrusted the family with an experimental project. The goal was to grow documentable Roman varieties in verifiable Roman ways on sites within Pompeii where the archeological evidence proved they had once flourished.
In a manner of speaking, Campanian wine begins and ends in Pompeii. The awesome eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried the town and its vineyards two millennia ago was just one - albeit spectacularly destructive - of many such eruptions that have marked the geological development of the area. Most of its non-Apennine hills are now-dead volcanoes, and the sharp peaks of the Apennines themselves mark the huge tectonic forces at work in the region. These upthrusts provide the altitude necessary to grow fine wine grapes in a hot climate, but it is the volcanoes themselves that have created the mineral-rich soil that makes those grapes and their wines utterly distinctive. It follows that Campanian winemakers are volcano-lovers. Wine drinkers who come to discover the distinctive goût de terroir displayed by the region's wines will quickly join their ranks.
Its unmatched winegrowing history distinguishes Campania from most other regions in Italy and the world at large. It's not just that grapes have always grown here, but that the same kinds of grapes have always grown here. Indeed, some varieties likely preceded human settlement. Others can be confidently dated to the arrival of colonists from pre-Classical Greece, about 800 to 750 B.C. So esteemed were Campanian wines during the glory days of the Roman Empire that numerous Classical writers, in addition to designating crus, also named and described the different vines and their cultivation, making them readily identifiable today. So prized have these distinctive grapes always been on their home turf that Campania remains virtually untouched by the tide of chardonnay, cabernet and merlot that has washed over almost every other Italian wine region.
To fully appreciate the legacy of Campanian wine, one must start in the vineyards. There, the senior red variety, aglianico, rules supreme. It is probably the longest-cultivated grape variety in Italy. Its name appears to be a dialect version of the word "Hellenic," which indicates that it was introduced into Campania sometime around 750 B.C. by Greek colonists. Aglianico is the sole component of Taurasi, the region's only red DOCG wine. The 100 percent varietal wine - perhaps the only one of Campania's progeny already on the cognoscenti's radar - is a wine of great depth and authority, capable of a very long life.
In good vintages, Taurasi can be a big, big, serious wine, yet it also can be as elegant as they come. Victor Hazan, author of the pioneering book Italian Wine, thought Mastroberardino's 1968 Taurasi Riserva was among the very best wines of 20th-century Italy. I opened a bottle of that legendary wine just a few years ago and found no reason to dispute his judgment. Contemporary winemakers think that aglianico's accomplishments thus far are only the beginning of its greatness. Riccardo Cotarella, one of Italy's busiest and most-esteemed enologists, has been increasingly active in Campania in recent years, and has become an unabashed admirer of the variety. "Aglianico's potential is enormous," he says. "Very few other varieties possess its richness of tannins and polyphenols, its generosity and outstanding varietal character."
Its considerable character should come as no surprise. Ampelographical and historical studies undertaken in several Italian universities have shown aglianico to be the direct ancestor of the Rhône's prized syrah grape, and very likely of Bordeaux's (and the world's) darling cabernet sauvignon, too.
Professor Attilio Scienza of the University of Milan, whose work is highly regarded in Italian winegrowing circles, has established these links by investigating both the genetic makeup of key grape varieties, and the trade and military routes that spread them from Southern Italy northward, first throughout the peninsula and ultimately to the rest of Europe.
If "by their fruits you shall know them" holds true, aglianico has all the potential needed to make world-class wines. That it has only intermittently done so until now has been largely because, until quite recently, the Mastroberardino house had been the lone voice in the wilderness, the only producer in Campania earnestly restricting quantity and seriously pursuing quality. Thanks to its example, the firm now has a lot of youthful, vigorous competition, and the bar is being raised higher and higher with every vintage.
Taurasi originates in a small zone around the town of the same name in the province of Avellino, about 35 miles east and uphill from Naples, though aglianico grows throughout Campania and sustains the only DOC in neighboring Basilicata -- the well-known Aglianico del Vulture. In other parts of Campania, it usually makes good and steadily improving DOC wine, almost always labeled Aglianico-plus-a-regional denominator -- Aglianico del Taburno, Irpinia Aglianico and Sannio Aglianico are the most notable combinations. In addition to those already cited, producers of note include Caggiano, De Conciliis, Di Meo and Mustilli.
This nomenclatorial exception, and an exception in other respects as well, is found in the northwest corner of the region and not that far from the Taurasi zone. The ancient Roman Ager Falernum is where the antique name of Falerno has been reestablished. In its best versions, Falerno Rosso is a velvet-textured, potentially quite noble wine, blended with about 80 percent aglianico and 20 percent piedirosso. Unfortunately, there is also a lesser red blend made with the Pugliese grape variety primitivo that is entitled to the name Falerno Rosso - one of Italian wine law's more egregious errors. Villa Matilde is Falerno Rosso's most notable and authentic producer.
In fact, its founder, Francesco Paolo Avallone, a Neapolitan lawyer, is acknowledged as the wine's patron, having been almost single-handedly responsible for its revival. Still practicing law, Avallone was fascinated by the history of his region and spent years researching the great wines of the Roman Empire and seeking out surviving vines possessing the characteristics described by the Roman writers. After two decades of labor - coincidentally, large stretches of Campania were known to the Romans as Terre del Lavoro (the Lands of Labor) - he located ten aglianico vines, five piedirosso and five falanghina. From those 20 vines have sprouted the 64 hectares of Villa Matilde (named for his long-suffering wife), and from his determined efforts have sprung the entire Falerno DOC, enacted in 1989.
Villa Matilde is run today by Francesco's son, Salvatore, and daughter, Maria Ida, who have both given up careers in law to bring their father's vision to fruition. Salvatore delights in pointing out the signs of his area's long, continuous history of winemaking, from the Roman grand cru right down to the young, modern DOC. Standing in the middle of the family's aglianico vineyards, he points to a large farmhouse a few hundred yards away. "That house," he recounts, "was built in the 16th century directly over the ruins of a Roman farmhouse. In its cellar, you can still trace the foundations of the Roman wine cellar."
In contrast to Villa Matilde, Galardi, another first-rate producer, has so far been content to stay outside the DOC and simply label its fine
aglianico/piedirosso blend "Terra del Lavoro." But the progress made within Campanian DOCs across the board is encouraging Galardi's owners to move their prize-winning wine - a product of consulting enologist Riccardo Cotarella's attention - into the officially sanctioned Falerno Rosso ring.
Piedirosso can claim a pedigree as old as aglianico's, though it nearly disappeared after phylloxera devastated Campania in the early 20th century. The grape's name means "red feet"; its dialect name, per' e palummo, or "dove's foot," suggests the same attribute -- the red stems that resemble the feet of doves. For that reason, piedirosso is thought to be either an ancestor or collateral relative of the Friulian refosco, also red stemmed. Either or both are believed to be distantly related to the French variety cot (malbec), which has carved a niche for itself in Argentina. All roads don't necessarily lead to Rome; some wine roads, at any rate, continue south to Campania.
"Piedirosso is a reclamation project here," explains Domenico Ocone, one of the finest producers in the Taburno zone. His very impressive proprietary blend Calidonio is made mostly from piedirosso with about 15 percent aglianico. "The farmers hate piedirosso. They say, you plant it here, and its fruit grows [15 feet] away." Winemakers prize the variety, however, because of its deep color, good tannins and bright acidity, coupled with rich, fruit basket aromas and complex flavors. In fact, several producers - Villa Matilde and Ocone among them - are now bottling a single varietal Piedirosso.
Not coincidentally, Antonio Mastroberardino reports that before the advent of the DOC, even Taurasi was often blended with a small amount of piedirosso, which was traditionally grown right alongside aglianico. "Aglianico is Campania's most important grape, but piedirosso is not minor," he says. The Mastroberardino firm has recently revived the traditional practice in the Avellino area with its top-of-the-line Naturalis Historia, a blend of 85 to 90 percent aglianico and the balance piedirosso, a wine of impressive depth and elegance.
Red wines aren't the only source of excitement in Campania. The region has an amazingly lengthy list of indigenous white varieties - asprinio, biancolella, coda di Volpe, falanghina, fiano, forastera and greco - most of which, until quite recently, survived only in vinous backwaters yielding wines of primarily local interest. With a few significant exceptions -- fiano, greco, falanghina - their names remain largely unknown to connoisseurs in the rest of Italy, much less the world, but they may yet achieve a degree of deserved celebrity. The first sign that their status is rising is the quite recent elevation of Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino - both from the same highly prized viticultural area that produces Taurasi - to DOCG status, the only white wines so honored in the Mezzogiorno.
The most important thing to know about the white wines vinified from these varieties is simply that they are not Chardonnay. If anything, they are anti-Chardonnay, tending toward the opposite end of the spectrum from Chardonnay's typical buttery sweetness. Campania's complex, volcanic soils imbue most of its whites with a richly nuanced minerality that meshes quite successfully with characteristically bright Italian acidity and the distinctive personality of each grape. Given that acidity, the wines can be styled as light apéritifs or substantial dinner companions. The end result is a range of Campanian whites that offer something to fill every imaginable enological and gastronomic niche - each linked by the common attributes of minerality and food-friendly acidity, and distinguished by individual flavor profiles. Enzo Ercolino quips, "We've found our Chardonnay, and it's Falanghina."
Its name indicates that falanghina, too, is another ancient variety. Falanga is the word for the stake that supports the vines, so "falanghina" is the "grape of the stake," a label it earned way back when staking was a new technology reserved for grapes that were too good merely to head-train, allow to sprawl along the ground or climb trees (the latter method was common in Roman times and is still used in some parts of Campania for the asprinio grape).
In modern times, falanghina found itself submerged in anonymous blends until its real worth began to be realized about a decade ago. With the re-emergence of Falerno, it reassumed its starring role as the only component of Falerno Bianco, the same part it is believed to have played in the Roman grand cru Falernum.
The best example of Falerno Bianco comes from Villa Matilde, but others are also producing excellent versions of 100 percent Falanghina wines in several of Campania's DOC zones: Ocone in Benevento, Terredora in Avellino, Mustilli in the small Sant'Agata de' Goti zone, Gran Furor/Marisa Cuomo on the Amalfi Coast and Feudi di San Gregorio in Sannio. All are marked by their varying soils, microclimates and Falanghina's characteristic bracing acidity and distinct pear and flint flavors. "There was a lot of falanghina planted, but it was scattered all over," Ercolino says, "a little here, a little there, mostly for secondary uses. There is probably no more total surface planted to falanghina now, but it's concentrated, cared for better and put to much better uses."
The fiano variety is known to be just as ancient as falanghina. Its name derives from apianus, the grapevine Pliny described as "beloved by the bees" (apis is Latin for bee). Having achieved more than a modicum of prestige, it is currently winning the Campanian white varietal beauty contest. Although fiano can appear in many DOC and IGT wines, its finest embodiment to date is unquestionably as Fiano di Avellino, recently raised to DOCG status. This wine has long been championed by the Mastroberardino family, both before and after brothers Antonio and Walter went their separate ways in the mid-1990s. After pioneering modern Campanian winemaking together for decades, the two branches of the family split over differences in winemaking philosophy and style. (Those differences remain invisible to most observers, or at least to this one.)
Despite any disagreements, the two can take credit for rescuing fiano from extinction. About a half century ago, they began gathering and propagating the very few vines left in the region. For decades, the brothers' Fiano di Avellino was the only such bottling in significant commercial circulation. For many devotees, it remains the Fiano benchmark. Coupled with its ability to age gracefully, it characteristically possesses aromas and flavors of pear, spice and hazelnut tucked into a smooth, palate-pleasing package. An older Mastroberardino Fiano from a great vintage will compare to young Fiano in much the same way that an older Champagne will differ from a newly fermented one - subtlety and mature complexity weighed against exuberance and freshness.
Besides the Fianos emanating from the houses of Mastroberardino and Terredora, admirable bottlings from the Avellino area also include those of Di Meo and Feudi di San Gregorio; Ocone from the Taburno DOC zone; and in Sant'Agata de' Goti, Mustilli.
Yet another grape rescued from extinction through the efforts of the Mastroberardino clan is greco (its wine from Tufo has also recently acquired DOCG status). In its case, however, there is a certain irony attached to its ascent because in recent years, as producers have multiplied, the wine has seemed to change identity and perhaps to lose its direction.
Once upon a time, Greco was quite distinct from Fiano, heavier on the palate, round and olivaceous, with an almost oily - olive oily, that is - finish. Now it seems to be emulating Fiano - with an emphasis on fruit and lightness - or at least that is the direction many of its makers are taking it. Being Fiano is not a bad thing for Fiano, but in the hands of Campania's best makers Greco should retain its own distinctive character: "less immediate than Falanghina," according to Terredora's Lucio Mastroberardino, "and more full-fleshed than Fiano."
He speaks with great authority on this subject. When the two branches of his family went their separate ways, his father held onto most of the real estate, including some of the most prized fields and longest-established vineyards in greco's heartland. Terredora now possesses what Lucio calls "a DNA bank of greco," and enough vineyards to produce a basic Greco bottling and two exceptional single-vineyard bottlings as well, Loggia della Serra and Terre degli Angeli.
In its finest years and from its most accomplished makers, Greco di Tufo can age quite gracefully, though it is never as long-lived as Fiano. Estimable makers, beyond those cited previously, include
Di Meo, Feudi di San Gregorio, Petilia, Struzziero and Villa Raiano.
Wines like Greco and Fiano shatter the stereotype of Italian white wines, especially those from Southern Italy, as, at best, light-hearted, forgettable summer quaffs. Campania's dynamic duo are sub-tantial wines that have earned a place at the dinner table. Which is not to say that the region is bent only on making age-worthy whites of notable character. There still exist many simpler quaffs that can add sparkle to any meal, especially hot-weather foods.
Many of the white wines made along the breathtakingly beautiful Amalfi Coast fall into this enjoyable, less attention-grabbing category. Costa d'Amalfi Bianco is usually made from a blend of falanghina and the even more localized biancolella; Marisa Cuomo makes a lovely example of this. Similarly, Campi Flegrei Bianco uses the same grapes in its blend; Grotta di Sole is its finest producer. On the alluring resort island of Ischia, situated in the Bay of Naples, D'Ambra produces a pleasing monovarietal Biancolella and a lively blend of biancolella and the even less common forastera. All are perfect companions to the delicately flavored fish and shellfish of that picturesque bay.
In the now rapidly receding past, the most common Southern Italian wine (both red and white) included on wine lists in the U.S.'s once-ubiquitous "Italian-American" restaurants was the poetically named but all-too-often insipid Lacryma Christi. The wine takes its name from a story that must have been circulated by some medieval version of the Neapolitan Chamber of Commerce. It was said that while Christ was ascending to heaven, he glanced down and saw the Bay of Naples, and wept over the fact that so much beauty had fallen from heaven. Where his tears fell on the slopes of Vesuvius, the vines - immaculately conceived - thus sprouted.
Even in this secular age, the name is still too good not to be exploited. Fortunately, the DOC has recently been revamped, the regulations stiffened and more vigorously enforced, and the wine is rapidly improving. Still made in both red and white versions, the basic designation is now Vesuvio, with Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio reserved for a more intense, slightly higher alcohol wine. In the hands of a few makers (again, Mastroberardino leads the pack), Lacryma Christi is a finer and more substantial wine than it has been in a very long time. Mastroberardino's renditions of both red and white taste richly of the slopes of Vesuvius from which they spring, offering deep, smoky, mineral flavors that embody the quintessential character of Campania's volcanic wines.
The single grand exception to the absence of international interlopers in Campania is Silvia Imparato's Montevetrano, a unique blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and aglianico. From its first vintage, the wine has been taking top honors - and commanding hefty prices (about $90 to $100 per bottle) - throughout Italy. "I wanted to show how much could be done here," she states simply. The estate is small and demand is large, and even though Imparato is planting more vineyards, she is making sure to keep quality high. Her consulting enologist is Riccardo Cotarella, which almost guarantees continuing attention to and demand for the wine in Italy.
Despite the non-traditional nature of its blend, Montevetrano is nevertheless deeply rooted in Campania. The widely traveled Imparato (she's a successful photographer) may be in step with international tastes, but her first commitment is to her people and ancestral homeland, a beautiful stretch of hilly countryside just a few miles inland from Salerno. "I wanted to make something here so that young people wouldn't have to leave to find work, something that people here could take pride in and make a good living at," she says. She has succeeded admirably. Montevetrano has been called "Italy's Château Lafite," and no one who has been lucky enough to taste the wine has yet challenged the assertion.
A true Campanian, Imparato intends to gradually increase the percentage of aglianico in Montevetrano's blend. So, one way or the other, everything here eventually comes back to native grapes, local traditions and faith in the region's long and storied enological history. Regardless of their varying approaches, vintners like Imparato and the Mastroberardinos are perpetuating and elevating Campania's wines of the ages - the best of which are being crafted for the ages.
The DOCs & DOCGs
Campania now contains three DOCG wines - Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo - whose growing zones all cluster around Avellino, about 35 miles east of Naples. Notable producers within the Avellino zone include some of Campania's finest: Mastroberardino, Terredora and Feudi di San Gregorio. Also quite fine are Caggiano, Di Meo, Petilia and Struzziero.
In addition, Campania is home to 17 DOCs and their sub-zones:
· Aglianico del Taburno and a broad Taburno DOC that includes Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, Greco and Piedirosso, plus a white, red, rosé and a dry spumante, the latter three blended from varying combinations of the approved grapes. Excellent producers are Ocone and Fontanavecchia.
· Asprinio de Aversa is a light, pleasingly astringent white wine that serves well as an apéritif or partner with fish.
· Campo Flegrei, the coastal zone lying west of Naples, and covering monovarietal Falanghina and Piedirosso (sometimes called Per' e Palumme here) as well as simple bianco and rosso made of those grapes blended with small percentages of others. Grotta del Sole is the most important producer.
· On Capri, the DOC allows a white (blended from falanghina and greco) and a red (mostly piedirosso), but little leaves the island because not enough is made to satisfy local demand.
· From Castel San Lorenzo the DOC approves Moscato and Barbera, plus red and white blends, but these bottlings are rare. (I have never encountered any of any sort, not even in Campania itself.)
· In Cilento, a large and still-developing zone encompassing coast and mountains south of Naples, the DOC covers red, white, rosé and a monovarietal Aglianico. De Conciliis is a leading - probably the leading - producer.
· Costa d'Amalfi and its sub-zones Furore, Ravello and Tramonti embrace charming white blends (made from falanghina and biancolella), red blends (aglianico, piedirosso and sometimes the very local sciascinoso), and rosé (made from the same grapes as the reds). The top producers here are Marisa Cuomo/Gran Furore and Giuseppe Apicella.
· Falerno del Massico is the DOC zone that includes Falerno Bianco (falanghina) and Rosso (aglianico and piedirosso), plus a monovarietal Primitivo and a Falerno Rosso made from the same. Villa Matilde and Galardi's Terra di Lavoro are the labels to seek.
· Galluccio, a very small, still-developing zone lies near Falerno del Massico and cultivates similar grape varieties. The DOC allows a red (aglianico) and a white (falanghina).
· Guardiolo (a k a Guardia Sanframondi), a hilly inland region near Benevento, cultivates the white falanghina and sangiovese for its red. The DOC allows white, red, rosé, spumante and a monovarietal Falanghina.
· In Ischia, the DOC allows a blended white wine (forastera and biancolella), a blended red (guarnaccia, i.e. grenache, and piedirosso), plus monovarietal Biancolella, Forastera and Piedirosso.
· Penisola Sorrentina, with its sub-zones Lettere, Gragnano and Sorrento, has DOCs for a white made from falanghina, biancolella and greco, and a red vinified from piedirosso, aglianico and sciascinoso.
· Sannio, an increasingly important zone near Benevento, has a very broad DOC that covers a white made from trebbiano, a rosé and a red from sangiovese, a spumante from aglianico, greco and falanghina. Its more serious monovarietal wines are numerous. The most significant of them are Aglianico, Falanghina, Fiano, Greco and Piedirosso.
· Sant'Agata de' Goti is another Benevento zone with a broad DOC that allows a blended white (falanghina and greco), red and rosé (both are made from aglianico and piedirosso), as well as monovarietal wines from all four vines. Mustilli is its most important producer.
· Solopaca lies west of Benevento; its DOC includes a trebbiano- and malvasia-based white and an aglianico- and piedirosso-based red and rosé, as well as monovarietal Aglianico, Falanghina, Greco and Piedirosso.
· At Vesuvio, the white can contain verdeca and coda di Volpe plus falanghina and greco, while the rosé (increasingly less seen) and the red are mostly piedirosso and sciascinoso. The best producer is Mastroberardino. (The Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio designation indicates a slightly higher degree of alcohol than the basic wine.)
WHITES
Aminea, 2002 Fiano di Avellino - $18: Thoroughly enjoyable with a characteristically complex fiano blend of mineral, nut and fruit (dried apple, pear) flavors and an almond finish. Outstanding (Winebow)
Cantina dei Monaci, 2002 Fiano di Avellino - $14: Pretty almond-hazelnut nose; typical pear palate, light body, bright acidity, long hazelnut finish. Very Good (Wine Emporium)
Caputo, 2001 Greco di Tufo - $15: Slightly candied aromas precede flavors of chalk, flint and dried apple. Very Good (A.V. Imports)
Caputo, 2001 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco - $11: Pleasant nose of soil and sulfur; flavors of white fruits with a pleasingly bitter finish. Very Good (A.V. Imports)
De Conciliis, 2001 Paestum Bianco IGT "Donnaluna" - $23: This 100 percent Fiano is all pear and almond with a long, drying finish. Very Good (Vignaioli Imports)
De Conciliis, 2001 Paestum Bianco IGT "Perella" - $18: A single-vineyard Fiano, leaner and more elegant than the preceding wine. Very Good (Vignaioli Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 2002 Greco di Tufo "Campanaro" - $21: A beautifully balanced wine with an intriguing green tomato and mineral nose. Very Good (Palm Bay Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 2001 Irpinia Bianco IGT "Campanaro" - $36: An internationally styled wine displaying Italian acidity plus modest barrique notes; elegant, but not particularly rooted in its native soil. Very Good (Palm Bay Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 2002 Sannio Falanghina - $16: Bright mineral character with excellent acidity; a fine apéritif Falanghina. Very Good (Palm Bay Imports)
Grotta del Sole, 2000 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco - $15: A bit closed in the nose, but with attractive mineral flavors, good body and a pleasing, dried pear finish. Very Good (Wine Wave Ltd.)
Mastroberardino, 2001 Fiano di Avellino "Radici" - $25: Benchmark Fiano: hazelnut nose; pear and nut bread flavors; long hazelnut finish. Everything Fiano should be. If you want to learn about Campanian whites, start here. Superb (Paterno Wines International)
Mastroberardino, 2001 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco - $18: This 100 percent coda di Volpe may be as good as this wine gets. Rich
aromas of ripe fruit and warm stones; smoky, volcanic flavors plus dollops of ripe white fruits; round with fine acidity. Outstanding (Paterno Wines International)
Montesole, 2002 Fiano di Avellino - $17: Components similar to the outstanding Aminea Fiano, but not as intense. Very Good (Winebow)
Montesole, 2002 Irpinia Bianco IGT "Sussurro" - $10: Spiced apple and cinnamon-pear nose; pear and apple flavors; medium-bodied and round with a long, almondy finish. Good value. Very Good (Winebow)
Ocone, 2002 Taburno Falanghina - $16: Bright mineral aromas lead to clean, mineral flavors imbued with refreshing acidity. Very Good (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Ocone, 2002 Taburno Falanghina Bianco "Vigna del Monaco" - $25: An intense and lean single-vineyard Falanghina with characteristically bracing acidity highlighting flint and mineral flavors. Outstanding (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Ocone, 2002 Taburno Greco - $16: Fat in the mouth, but nevertheless lithe, with substantial Greco flavors of olives and earth. Very Good (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Struzziero, 2002 Greco di Tufo "Villa Giulia" - $16: Lots of fat fruit overlaying brisk mineral notes. Very Good (Opici Wine Imports)
Terredora, 2002 Falanghina Irpinia IGT "Terredora" - $13: Aromas and flavors of dried pear, flint and chalk; biggish, round, long-finishing. You can almost taste the volcano in a wine like this. Excellent value. Very Good (Vias Imports Ltd.)
Terredora, 2002 Fiano di Avellino - $21: Classic Fiano character evocative of a bowl of fruit (especially pear) and nuts, and laced with earthy, mineral accents. Outstanding (Vias Imports Ltd.)
Vestini Campagnano, 2002 Pallagrello Bianco IGT "Le Ortole" - $39: From an old, localized grape variety (pallarella in the regional dialect). Nutty aroma; fruity in the mouth with dry, pleasing acidity. Very Good (Montecastelli Selections Ltd.)
Villa Matilde, 2001 Falerno del Massico Bianco - $12: Ample nose of earth, stone and mineral; pleasing palate with balanced flavors of pear, flint and gunpowder; long, lovely, almond finish. An exceptional value. Outstanding (Winebow)
Villa Raiano, 2002 Greco di Tufo - $17: Typical mineral characteristics, more pronounced on the palate than in the nose with good body and zesty acidity. Very Good (Selected Estates of Europe)
REDS
Giuseppe Apicella, 2000 Costa d'Amalfi Tramonti Rosso -$14: A blend of aglianico and piedirosso. Nose and finish of plum and tobacco. Black pepper and spice on the palate; medium-bodied, round and soft. Very Good (Wine Emporium)
De Conciliis, 2001 Paestum Rosso IGT "Donnaluna" - $23: One-hundred percent aglianico. Peppery and leathery nose. All plum and berry fruit from start to finish, displaying good acid and tannin balance. Very Good (Vignaioli Imports)
Di Meo, 2000 Irpinia Aglianico IGT "Vigna Olmo" - $15: Fresh aromas and flavors of black plum and espresso with a tobacco-licorice finish. An exceptional value. Very Good (Supreme Wines and Spirits)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 2001 Irpinia Aglianico IGT "Rubrato" - $17: Black pepper and some new oak in the nose. Dark fruit and vanilla notes in the mouth; a well-made wine at a modest price. Very Good (Palm Bay Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 2000 Irpinia Aglianico IGT "Serpico" - $63: Opulent scents and flavors of blackberry, leather, black pepper and new wood; big and powerful, yet elegant. Additional bottle age will further refine this potential light-heavyweight champion. Outstanding (Palm Bay Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 1998 Taurasi "Selve di Luoti" - $37: Stunning, complex aromas of black pepper, blackberry, coffee and bramble. The palate is all black fruit, coffee and tobacco. Very well integrated. Outstanding (Palm Bay Imports)
Feudi di San Gregorio, 1997 Taurasi Riserva "Piano Montevergine" - $55: Complex, muscular and elegant, from the pepper, leather and wood aromas to the coffee and blackberry flavors to the espresso and tobacco finish. A veritable cornucopia of dark flavors. Outstanding (Palm Bay Imports)
Fontanavecchia, 2000 Aglianico del Taburno - $14: Plum and coffee scents and flavors with tobacco and alcohol accenting the long finish. An exceptional value. Very Good (Wine Emporium)
Fontanavecchia, 1999 Aglianico del Taburno Riserva "Cattaratte" - $25: The nose offers black pepper, then coffee, then berries. Big and supple on the palate with soft black fruit and an espresso finish. Very Good (Wine Emporium)
Mastroberardino, 1998 Irpinia IGT "Naturalis Historia" - $75: Elegant and powerful from the first heady whiff to its lavish, lengthy finish. Evocative of black plum macerated in grappa and espresso. Needs more time, but should last decades. Superb (Paterno Wines International)
Mastroberardino, 2001 Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Rosso - $22: One-hundred percent piedirosso. Deeply complex nose of mineral and black plum; plum and espresso on the palate; nut and tobacco in the finish. Very Good (Paterno Wines International)
Mastroberardino, 1998 Taurasi "Radici" - $48: Still-evolving flavors of coffee, chocolate and black fruit with a long, espresso finish; very impressive.
Textbook Taurasi. Superb (Paterno Wines International)
Montesole, 2001 Sannio Aglianico - $12: Soft, berry-esque fruit throughout with undertones of tobacco and leather. An exceptional value. Very Good (Winebow)
Montesole, 1997 Taurasi - $26: Typical nose of blackberry and leather. Very soft berry and pepper in the mouth; blackberry, pepper, tobacco and coffee mark the finish. An exceptional value. Very Good (Winebow)
Ocone, 1999 Aglianico del Taburno - $18: Vigorous and stimulating with rich flavors of fresh berry and black coffee. An exceptional value. Very Good (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Ocone, 1998 Aglianico del Taburno "Vigna Pezza La Corte" - $25: Refined, intense and lean with soft black fruit over espresso and tobacco flavors; a dark, gracefully brooding wine, and an excellent value to boot. Outstanding (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Ocone, 2002 Taburno Piedirosso - $15: Soft and generous with sweet red fruit falling halfway between strawberry and plum. Very Good (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Ocone, 2001 Taburno Piedirosso "Calidonio" - $34: Fifteen percent aglianico lends structure to this large-scale, intense and elegant wine; black pepper and coffee jump out of the glass. Outstanding (Vin Divino Ltd.)
Struzziero, 2000 Irpinia Aglianico IGT "Foscaro" - $45: Big and supple with excellent balance, complex coffee, vanilla and dark fruit flavors, plus an intriguing caffe corretto finish. Outstanding (Opici Wine Imports)
Struzziero, 1997 Taurasi Riserva "Campoceraso" - $55: A marked espresso nose precedes soft, round flavors of characteristic blackberry, tobacco, pepper and spice qualities. Outstanding (Opici Wine Imports)
Terredora, 2001 Irpinia Aglianico IGT - $13: Lean and muscular with black pepper and dark fruit, including blackberry. An exceptional value. Very Good (Vias Imports Ltd.)
Terredora, 1999 Irpinia Aglianico IGT "Il Principio" - $22: Aromas of black fruit and leather; the palate is dark, supple and coffee-toned with ample power and grace; long finishing and elegant. Outstanding (Vias Imports Ltd.)
Terredora, 1998 Taurasi "Fatica Contadina" - $41: Sweet black fruit with overtones of espresso gracing the nose and mouth; a lithe, muscular wine, elegant and impressive. Superb (Vias Imports Ltd.)
Vestini Campagnaro, 2000 Pallagrello Nero IGT - $59: Young, soft and fat; nut and leather qualities define the palate; unusual yet quite likeable, from an old, very localized variety. Very Good (Montecastelli Selections Ltd.)
Villa Matilde, 2000 Falerno del Massico Rosso - $15: Lovely, juicy plum-berry aromas and flavors with a very long, pleasing finish. A welcoming wine and an exceptional value. Very Good (Winebow)
Villa Matilde, 1999 Falerno del Massico Rosso "Vigna Camarato" - $35: Balanced and refined; the essence of the piedirosso grape and the Falerno zone, displaying intense, concentrated black plum, berry and mineral qualities. Outstanding (Winebow)
Villa Raiano, 2001 Irpinia Aglianico IGT - $18: Subtle scents and flavors of mint and dark fruit; a touch tannic. Very Good (Selected Estates of Europe)
Contributing Editor Tom Maresca has followed the Italian wine scene for 25 years.
Grape Geneolgy
Aglianico = Vitis hellenica
Coda di Volpe = Cauda vulpium
Fiano = Vitis apiana
Greco = Vitis aminea gemina
Piedirosso = Columbina purpurea
For disciples of antique wine lore, the modern and ancient names of some of Campania's most important grape varieties can be found in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder, one of antiquity's great proto-scientific works. The author, an admiral and important statesman as well as a scholar, perished during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in A.D. 79.
- TM
Antipasti: Campania's Tempting Spread
By Diane Darrow
The wines of Campania are perfectly pleasing when drunk by themselves, but they work gloriously when accompanied by food. They show best of all with the traditional foods of their region -- in combinations that have been refined by generations of winemakers and cooks. The most versatile of these wines' companions are those foods served as antipasti.
In America, we think of the Italian "appetizer" course as an antipasto (in the singular). But in Campania, antipasti are plural. They embrace a gorgeous spread of tempting little foods: some cold and some hot, some crisp and some soft, some delicately sweet and some sharply spicy. All the white wines of Campania, and all but the biggest, long-lived reds, can mix and match happily with these attractive dishes. And while we can't reproduce them exactly in this country, we can come close enough to make the wines - and the tasters - very happy.
The cold dishes most commonly served as antipasti are cheeses and cured meats. Campania's favorite antipasto is ovalini di mozzarella di bufala, "little eggs" of soft, melt-in-the-mouth cheese made from the milk of water buffalo, an animal that has been raised in Campania for centuries. Buffalo milk is very high in butterfat, so the cheese is richer than the cow's milk mozzarella common in the United States, though buffalo cheeses are beginning to be imported here.
Buffalo milk is also turned into soft, naturally sweet curds of ricotta. A tangier fresh ricotta is made from sheep's milk (also sometimes available here), as well as the more familiar one from cow's milk. In Campania, little dishes of acacia honey and marmalade are often presented for drizzling over ricotta. In addition, there may be powdered espresso beans, cinnamon and cocoa for sprinkling on it. These cheeses match beautifully with lighter white wines: Falanghina, Costa d'Amalfi Bianco and Ischia Bianco. They also go well with fresh, young reds such as Falerno Rosso, Lacryma Christi Rosso and some Aglianicos.
When left to age somewhat, the mozzarella-type cheese made from cow's milk becomes caciocavallo, a firm, gently rubbery cheese that's often smoked for flavor variety. Aged longer, it becomes provolone, a hard, fairly sharp cheese. Pecorino, sheep's milk cheese, is also made in a range of textures, from tender mouthfuls to firm, solid bites. These stronger cheeses, many of which are either imported or made here, go well with sturdier white wines - Fiano, Greco di Tufo, Falerno Bianco - and almost any of the reds.
Salumerie, cured pork products, are ubiquitous in Italy. One breed of Campanian pig is particularly prized: the maialino nero casertano, a cross between the pata negra pig of Spain and the local wild boar. Campanian cured pork products include prosciutto (the whole ham), capicollo (a solid piece of neck meat), salame (ground meat with bits of fat), salsiccia seca (ground meat and fat), and soppressata (ground meat and fat compressed while curing). Many of these are
made in both sweet and hot styles. With production on an artisanal scale, there are differences in salting, smoking, drying and spicing, so tasting salumerie of different makers is a continual process of discovery. Very few of Italy's pork products are allowed into the U.S., but there are excellent imported prosciutto from Parma and San Daniele (unfortunately not from Campania). The fats and spices of these meats would overwhelm delicate white wines, but they bring out the best in robust reds, like older Taurasi, Aglianico and Aglianico-Piedirosso blends.
The rich, volcanic soil of Campania and its mild Mediterranean climate produce vegetables prized all over Italy, from tiny, tender, fully edible artichokes to great, glossy, red and yellow peppers, eggplants that range from finger-size to football-size, crisp zucchini in many shades of green, and a dozen types of tomatoes. Olive trees are everywhere, and the forests yield plump wild mushrooms. As antipasti, these vegetables are prepared myriad ways: roasted, braised, baked or boiled; marinated in olive oil or wine vinegar; piquant with herbs or spices, stuffed or not, alone or in combinations. Of course, American-grown vegetables can be prepared similarly, and as long as a light hand is used with the vinegar, such domestic antipasti can go well with almost any Campanian wine.
The big red wines positively blossom in the mouth in combination with vegetable fritti. And nobody deep-fries better than Campanians: batter-dipped zucchini blossoms, crisp and delicate as jewels; arancini, the Neapolitan specialty of seasoned rice balls fried in a breadcrumb coating so they resemble tiny oranges; crochetti di patate, stubby cylinders of potato mashed with egg and cheese, crunchy on the outside, creamy within. Then there's polpettini di carote rosse, subtly sweet, intriguingly flavored "meatballs" made from cooked beets puréed with cheese, herbs and breadcrumbs.
Only one type of antipasti clash with the region's reds: those based on seafood. Campania's long coastline on the Bay of Naples, the Gulf of Salerno and the Mediterranean offers a wealth of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and cephalopods. There are many varieties of clams and mussels. A popular antipasto for café dining is cozze impepada, plump, peppery mussels steamed over vats of boiling seawater set up on the sidewalk beside the outdoor tables. Shrimp, squid, octopus and cuttlefish are prepared in many ways: boiled and dressed simply with olive oil and lemon juice; steamed with herbs in a packet of lemon leaves; grilled and served on a chickpea purée; or simply deep-fried to crispness and finished with coarse salt and lemon wedges. Greco di Tufo is the preeminent Campanian wine for seafood, but all the whites marry well here - especially the fresh, fruity blends of biancolella, fiano and falanghina grapes grown on terraces overlooking the sea along the Amalfi Coast or on the offshore islands.
Guest contributor Diane Darrow is the co-author with her husband, Tom Maresca, of two books on the foods and cooking of Italy, La Tavola Italiana (Akadine Press) and The Seasons of the Italian Kitchen (Grove Press).
