Campania is worlds away, both geographically and culturally, from such "glamour" regions as, say, Piedmont. It is a warm region, and an arid one, surrounding Naples. The Romans considered the area to be their "local" vineyard, and it was here that the greatest wine of Roman times, Falernian, was produced. Although the wines of Campania continued to enjoy a good deal of prestige through several hundred years, by the late twentieth century, no less an authority than Burton Anderson would describe the wine scene here as one of "mediocrity that still shows only feeble signs of recovery."   More

Campania is worlds away, both geographically and culturally, from such "glamour" regions as, say, Piedmont. It is a warm region, and an arid one, surrounding Naples. The Romans considered the area to be their "local" vineyard, and it was here that the greatest wine of Roman times, Falernian, was produced. Although the wines of Campania continued to enjoy a good deal of prestige through several hundred years, by the late twentieth century, no less an authority than Burton Anderson would describe the wine scene here as one of "mediocrity that still shows only feeble signs of recovery."

It was 15 years ago that Anderson penned those words, and much has changed since then. The area's potential, now being exploited on a promising scale, is founded largely on Campania's topography. The inland zones, where much of the best viticulture is currently practiced, is hilly-verging-on-mountainous, the Apennine ridge running right through the heart of the region. Campania is home to a plethora of native grape varieties (numbering around 400 in the 1930s, with perhaps about a tenth that number today), many possibly of ancient Greek origin. A couple of them, such as the red Aglianico (from which DOCG Taurasi is made, as well as the Galardi estate's cult favorite "Terra di Lavoro") and the whites Fiano and Falanghina, have become somewhat well known even among fairly casual students of Italian.   Less