Campania: Made in Italy

Campania’s best producers, both small and large, are making some of Italy’s most interesting wines. And great bottles, although still a distinct minority of the region’s total production, are on the rise. A good case can be made that 5 or 6 of Italy’s best 30 white wines are in fact Campanian; and other wines made recently by small, promising estates show outstanding potential too. However, the overall level of winemaking remains spotty, and technology at many estates isn’t always up to modern standards.

Clearly, as most of these wines have never fetched particularly high prices, many winemaking families have been limited in their ability to invest in their vineyards and cellars. Another issue is that many of Campania’s newest and most exciting estates (most of which were founded only in the 1990s) are small and only own a few hectares of vines. Consequently, they make one truly excellent wine from their (few) estate-grown grapes, and other lesser wines from purchased grapes. This is another reason why in Campania you might have the same estate making, for example, an outstanding world-class Fiano wine from its own plots of vines and a Falanghina wine from bought fruit that is average at best.

On the other hand, truly bad wines from Campania are rare, and that is something I cannot say about other Italian regions such as Puglia or Abruzzo. Unfortunately, large co-ops have been content with turning out clean, solidly made but ultimately unexciting wines, and quality from the region’s better-known large producers has been up and down over the decades, contributing to Campania’s lack of international recognition. Happily, there are clear signs today that more producers are committed to making wines that generate the excitement that many of Campania’s great native grapes are undoubtedly capable of communicating.

Old-vine Aglianico in Taurasi

Campania’s Wine Grapes