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CAMPANIA WINES |
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 Campania: land of emperors wines
The ancestral relationship between wine and Campania can be traced back to the ancient times, as it is witnessed by the greatest classical writers and by uncountable archaeological remainders. Campania has been undoubtedly one of the first and most important centres, in the world, for the cultivation, improvement, study and spreading of vines.The best wines of antiquity, praised by Cicero, Plinius, Martialis, Tibullus, came from Campania indeed, where the land featured the best conditions and, furthermore, cultivation and wine-making developed earlier than in other regions. Those were the so called emperors' wines: Falerno, Greco, Faustiniano, Caleno... The devastating eruption of 79 aC, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, was not enough to cancel a tradition that lasted still nowadays. Frescoes found in the ancient villas tell us about the “cult of the wine”, while whole stocks of amphorae tell us about the way wine was stored, kept in cellars and labelled with indications about name and year of production. Furthermore, other archaeological remainders tell us about the pleasure of tasting the wine, served in its dedicated crockery, or about the activities related to vine, such as the production of ploughs, wine presses, ropes and “canestrelle”. Vitis Hellenica, Aminea, Gemina, Vitis Apiana, Uve Alopeci, Aminea Lanata or Minuscola... So the main Campanian vines were named and classified. Those are the ancestors of the best local vines currently cultivated: Aglianico, Fiano, Greco, Falanghina, Per'e palummo, Asprinio, Biancolella, Coda di Volpe, Forastera...It is a priceless heritage of traditions and culture, which was almost cancelled during the '50s, when there was a considerable reduction of varieties, due to a series of circumstances, among which a severe infection of philloxera that destroyed most vineyards. Luckily, many local varieties were later promoted and rescued, thanks to the efforts of the wine-making firms and of the regional government. So the whole sector has been relaunched. As a result, there are currently 21 Campanian wines labelled with a denomination of origin, corresponding to 70 types of product. Those wines vary according to the different habitats hosted by the region, thus forming a wide range of products.
The history of wine in Campania dates back to ancient times: that's why today on the territory we have more than 100 vine varieties, representing a unique example in the national and international panorama. We should mention the most famous major native wines, such as Aglianico and Fiano, as well as the minor ones, coming from different areas of Campania.
The region is endowed with a wide range of vine varieties, as well as a
wide range of habitats suitable for the cultivation of vines, each one
with its distinguishing features, so that they are able to provide wines
with different typical qualities. The relation between vines and habitats is the real strong point.So, some wines, coming from faraway lands, have actually stuck to the coast and never got away from it: they thrive just if they absorb the scent of the sea and the saltiness, from the wonderful terraced hills of the Amalfi and Sorrento coast. Those are called “vines of the sea”, yielding some of the most valued Italian wines: for instance, the Biancolella and Forastera provide the “Ischia” wine, one of the first wines in Italy to have ever obtained the DOC label, or the Suppezza, the Sabato and the Sciascinoso vines, which characterise wine from the Sorrento peninsula (the Gragnano, Lettere and Sorrento); furthermore the Amalfi Coast vines, such as Fenile, Ripolo, Pepella, Ginestra, provide the Furore and the Ravello wines with their distinctiveness and aromatic complexity. Other vines, instead, have developed towards the sky, even thought most vines are accustomed to live nearby the soil, to absorb its heat. So the Asprinio, considered as a “vine of air”, winds itself around tall poplars, to escape from the fog and fulfil its need for air. The Asprinio is solely cultivated in the Aversa plain, and yields the Asprinio di Aversa DOC wine: it is an extremely dry wine, available even as a sparkling wine. Volcanic soil, rich with ash, lapilli, potassium and microelements, is the cradle for many Campanian vines. Volcanic soil can be found around Vesuvius, in the area of the Pozzuoli solfatara , on Mount Barbaro, in the Astroni crater, the Agnano hollow, the Roccamonfina extinguished volcano, Mount Epomeo. This kind of soil is light and warm, feeding the vines and protecting them from the devastating fury of philloxerae. Those are the so-called “vines of fire”. Among them, we can mention the Per'e palummo variety, yielding blistering wines such as the red kinds of Campi Flegrei, Sant'Agata dei Goti, Ischia, Capri, Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio: according to Curzio Malaparte, “those wines show a mysterious colour, resmbling the fire of hell, the flavour of the lava, lapilli and ash which buried Herculaneum and Pompeii”. Among the white “fire vines”, the most important one is undoubtedly the Falanghina, a true emblem for the relaunch of Campanian wines: its origin is located in the Phlegraean Fields, where, before its recent spreading, it had been kept unadulterated in ancient vineyards on the exstinguished craters around Pozzuoli and Baia. The identification between Falanghina and volcanoes can be found in Caserta province as well, especially on the Roccamonfina volcano, yielding the legendary Falerno del Massico, and the Galluccio, both in their white version. Pallagrello (both and Bianco and Nero) can be mentioned in Caserta province, while, in the Fortore territory. Somarello and Barbera del Sannio vines can be found. Above all the mentioned products, Aglianico, true king of Campania vines, has Greek origins and it has been cultivated in Campania since a long time. There are different ecotypes characterising different diffusion area (the bitter Aglianico in the provinces of Salerno and Caserta, the Aglianico of Taurasi in the province of Avellino, the Aglianicone in the province of Salerno, the Aglianichello in the province of Napoli), each of them expressing slight morphologic and physiologic changes. The Aglianico yields many excellent wines, such as Taurasi (in the province of Avellino), first DOCG wine in the Southern Italy, the very ancient Falerno del Massico and the Galluccio (in the province of Caserta), the Aglianico of Taburno, the Sant'Agata dei Goti, the Solopaca, the Guardiolo and the Sannio (in the Benevento province). Finally Aglianico yields Cilento “Rosso” and “Rosato”in the province of Salerno.
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The
success of Campania wines is based on vines that can be just found in
the region, an on unique areas of production, such as the islands of
Ischia and Capri, the Vesuvian slopes, and the Irpinian and Samnite
hillsides. |
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