Winelingo
The flagship red, Taurasi from Aglianico, is firm and structured, with dark cherry and plum fruit, savoury earth and grippy tannins that soften with age. The whites are fresh and mineral: nutty Fiano, citrussy Greco and floral, easy-going Falanghina.
How Campania wine tastes
Campania is a paradise of ancient native grapes, and its reds and whites taste quite unlike the Italian mainstream. The great red, Taurasi, made from Aglianico, is powerful and savoury: dark cherry and plum fruit, notes of leather, tobacco and earth, high acidity and firm, grippy tannins that need time to mellow. It has earned the nickname the ‘Barolo of the South’.
The whites are just as distinctive. Fiano is textured and nutty, with pear, honey and a smoky mineral edge; Greco is fuller and citrussy with stone fruit and a stony bite; and Falanghina is the fresh, floral, citrus-driven crowd-pleaser.
What ties them together is a lively acidity and a mineral, sometimes smoky, character that comes from the region’s volcanic soils.
Signature styles & what to look for
The benchmark red is Taurasi DOCG, an Aglianico wine from the inland Irpinia hills that is built to age; a Riserva sees even longer maturing. For a gentler introduction to the grape, look for wines simply labelled Aglianico or Irpinia Aglianico.
Among whites, the two great names are Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo, both DOCG wines from Irpinia that can develop beautifully with a few years in bottle. Falanghina is the easy-drinking everyday white, bright and floral.
You will also find lovely coastal and island wines, from the Amalfi Coast to Vesuvius, so it is worth exploring beyond the famous four.
The grapes & the land
Campania leans on native grapes: the red Aglianico, and the whites Fiano, Greco and Falanghina. These varieties have grown here since antiquity and are rarely seen at this quality elsewhere.
Aglianico is a late ripener, hanging on the vine well into autumn. The warm Mediterranean sun of the region ripens it fully, building the firm tannins and dark, savoury fruit that let Taurasi reward years of ageing.
The whites owe their freshness to altitude and volcanic soils. Cooler, higher inland vineyards around Avellino and the ash-rich ground near Mount Vesuvius give the wines a smoky, mineral edge and keep their acidity crisp, even under the southern sun.