Central And Southern Italy: A Wine Lover’s Paradise

by Antonio Galloni

At a time when prices for so many of the world’s great wines continue to spiral out of control, there aren’t too many regions that offer a level of breadth, quality and value that can match the best of Central and Southern Italy. My tastings this past year were by far the most comprehensive I have undertaken in eight years. Readers will find notes on many old favorites, but I am personally most excited about the many new estates that are appearing in these pages for the first time. I would like to apologize to my readers for the tardiness of this report. Several factors outside of my control made it impossible for me to finish these reviews in late 2012 as originally planned. Those issues have been resolved, so readers can expect to see new releases from Central and Southern Italy reviewed on a timely basis again later this year.

It’s hard to know where to start with the wines of Central and Southern Italy. The truth is that as time passes the number of world-class producers in some regions is increasing at such a rate that there may be a time in the near future where some of these regions merit their own separate reports. Some years I have been most struck by the wines of Campania, other years the Marche has been utterly captivating, but this year it is Sicily that seems to be front and center, perhaps because I discovered a number of estates that are new to me.