Campania: Change Is Imminent…Or Is It?

BY ERIC GUIDO | JUNE 15, 2023

What will it take for Campania to receive the respect it deserves? For nearly two decades, I've followed these wines and watched as the region slowly continues to improve. In the early 2000s, it was just a handful of names that were worth talking about. Outside of that small subset, the reds were challenging to understand. They were dark and imposing, often rustic, balancing gruff Aglianico tannins with nervous acidity in a way that was far from pleasurable. Often producers would mask these beastly expressions with a cloak of new oak that would never integrate over time. 

The Guastaferro vineyards.

The marketing term "Barolo of the South" sounded fantastic, yet the wines simply couldn't win the hearts of wine lovers. The whites were seldom talked about outside of the region itself. Fiano, Greco and Falanghina had yet to receive a champion that could prove their worth to the international markets. In the end, consumers would buy on the word of the most respected critics. Still, most people simply couldn't understand the wines themselves or how they would ever mature into the legendary examples that did live up to the moniker Barolo of the South, such as the 1968 Mastroberardino Taurasi. Would we ever see another masterpiece like that again?

Things have changed drastically since then, but unfortunately, not enough to claim a proper spot on the world's stage. Quality has skyrocketed. Several important producers have set the bar high, determined to create a brighter future. Smaller operations and younger producers are working hard to carve out a piece of Campania terroir that's all their own. They are bringing old and abandoned vineyards back to life. These are often 100 to 200-year-old vineyards planted at higher elevations that the large industrial firms found too hard to work. Those dark oak monsters turn up less often in tastings. When they do, there's usually a better balance. Moreover, many producers now look to larger barrels.  

White varieties have also received tremendous praise over the past years, with Fiano displaying world-class potential and Greco not too far behind. However, there's still an ocean of forgettable wines dirtying the waters. Bruno de Conciliis of Tempa di Zoè explained, "Overpowered in alcohol and tannins… industrial wineries are highly focused on technically made, sweet whites", meaning dry wines with enough residual sugar to be more appealing to the public. It’s important to note that these same wines dominate the market.

It’s still easy to find plenty of unrefined reds and whites. There’s also a need for more organization between growers. I sense animosity as producers talk pridefully about their approach and how they differ from others, or a piece of hollow terroir that was foolishly excluded from a DOC or DOCG. Secular is the word that comes to mind. Campania needs more unity. It feels fractured. 

When was the last time an international marketing campaign promoted the wines of Irpinia? This region encompasses Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo, arguably Campania's most important categories. This is a question that I don't know the answer to. Nor do any of the producers that I've asked. The Irpinia Consorzio has been underfunded and focused primarily on regulations for many years. However, there are some reassurances. In April of 2022, Teresa Bruno was elected President of the Consorzio. Petilia, Bruno's winery, ranks among one of the smaller growers in the region. This is the first time the owner of a much larger estate has not held the position. Moreover, the Feudistudi, a project funded by Feudi di San Gregorio, is working on a multi-volume encyclopedia of Irpinia that will cover its history, varieties, subzones and vintages, along with maps. Hopefully, work like this will be created one day on a much larger scale and encompass the entire region. Professor Piero Mastroberardino summed it up perfectly when I asked what Campania requires to succeed. “Because of the variety of microclimates and elevations between inland and coast, the main issue, particularly for export markets, is to give the region an identity, or to focus on the identities of the specific areas, in order to build clear positioning of the wines,” he shared. Such thoughts give me hope. From my experience, many producers lack a clear understanding of Campania’s wines in the world market and what the end consumer expects from them.