Campania
When it comes to Italian wine history, everything begins here, in southern Italy. In ancient times, Greek colonists brought grapes to the hills around Neapolis – today’s Naples – and cultivated the vines in Campania’s fertile volcanic soil. Roman emperors and farmers alike enjoyed wines made from the grapes we now call greco, falanghina and fiano. Pliny the Elder, who perished in the eruption of Vesuvius of A. D. 79, wrote about the falernian wines he enjoyed. Today, this grape is known as Falerno del Massico.
Although Campanian vineyards have always yielded generous harvests, the region did not make winemaking headlines until the early 1990s. With a large local population available to consume whatever wines they produced, Campanian winemakers had little incentive to reduce bulk production in favor of quality wines.
Today, things are different. Campanian wines are firmly on the map, thanks to producers like Mastroberardino and Montevetrano. The number of award-winning wines from Campania increases every year. In fact, Gambero Rosso’s Italian Wines 2007 gave its “White Wine of the Year” award to Pietracupa’s Cupo 2005, a Campanian Fiano di Avellino.
As interest in Campanian wines continues to grow, so, too, does accessibility to Campanian wineries. Feudi di San Gregorio, for example, has opened a restaurant and botanical garden at its winery in Sorbo Serpico and a wine bar in the city of Nola. Feudi di San Gregorio also offers an overnight wine experience at its Lucanian vineyards in Basilicata and its Sorbo Serpico property.
For a completely different, yet utterly Campanian, experience, try a bed and breakfast or agriturismo in Furore, a town overlooking the Amalfi coast, just four miles from the town of Amalfi. St. Alfonso Farm House offers rooms and meals, along with priceless views of the jagged coastline and hillside vineyards. Your dinner will include DOC wine made from the farm’s own grapes. If a bed and breakfast is more your style, Holidays Fico d’India, also in Furore, has pleasant, clean rooms, a sunny terrace with hillside views and a charming breakfast room. If you plan to drive to Fuore, which is probably the best way to see the Amalfi area, brush up on your manual transmission driving skills before you leave home.
If you’re driving north from Naples to Rome, consider taking the coast road instead of the A-1 autostrada. Include a stop at Villa Matilde in Cellole in your travel plans. The winery, which made Wine & Spirits’ Top 100 Wineries 2007 list, is right on the SS-7 quater coastal road, between Mondragone and Minturno. You can tour the winery, eat lunch at Villa Matilde's restaurant, and take a case of the winery's award-winning Falerno del Massico wine with you.
Italy's Wine Heritage
With two thousand years of history behind them, Italian winemakers take great pride in their work. Touring Italy's wine regions will connect you with Italy's winemaking traditions.
