Campania stories 2024, a memorable experience to discover characterful wines and authentic territories.
One of the most important wine events in southern Italy took place this year in Sannio on the Northern edge of Campania. Wine writers and enthusiasts enjoyed the 12th edition of what is known as the Campania Stories. This year was an incredible success with more than 90 wineries attended the event to submit their samples to a wide audience of bloggers, journalists and wine critics, coming from several corners of the world. The setting could not be more beautiful as the event consists of a journey through the main wine areas of a region known by visitors for the beautiful Amalfi Coast and the vibrant city of Naples.
In the area of Sannio just north of the Naples, the town of Dugenta hosted the event at the luxury resort, Tenute del Gheppio. Producers had the opportunity to present their newest whites wines and also their Riservas. Presentation of the 2023 vintage was led by Francesco Martusciello, one of the flying winemakers of the region, at Rocca dei Rettori di Benevento, in cooperation with Assoenologi. Francesco Martusciello emphasized the 2023 vintage trend which was an uneven year with limited production but of very high quality. The whites were a perfect example with their predominant fermentative aromas that will certainly dissipate with time to show the true character of the grape.
Even more than the tastings, we enjoyed an in-depth journey through Campania to see producers in their element visiting estates in Sannio and Irpinia where they discovered the landscapes of smooth hills, mainly of clay, with expansive vineyards divided by the main rivers of Calore in Irpinia, and Volturno in North Sannio. These visits were made possible in part by the close collaboration of Miriade & Partners headed by Diana Cataldo, Massimo Iannaccone and Serena Valerian.
This is an area known for is great viticulture, since Roman Times when it was known as Campania Felix. A place where Roman heritage is still evident with the discovery of several amphoras and tools for the winemaking, but also marked by incredible buildings dating back the 18th century, such as the majestic Carolino aqueduct that dominates the valley as a Unesco Heritage site.
This beautiful corner of Campania shows history, arts and culture that are only discovered by venturing off the beaten path which was made possible thanks to the organization of Campania Stories, giving me and others the opportunity to see up close amazing places I did not even imagine, such as the Vigna del Ventaglio near Caserta in San Leucio, another UNESCO World Heritage site. The place was already known in the past for high quality silk production, when the Bourbon King Ferdinando IV selected a vineyard in the shape of a fan and divided it into nine sectors, each cultivated with unique grape varieties he loved the most, like Piedimonte Rosso and Bianco, Procopio, Delfino Bianco and Siracusa Rosso, parental vines of the modern ones.
More modern developments have been made recently concerning winemaking equipment in Campania. Prominent estates are using high tech crushing machines and tanks with cooling jackets, while at the same time preserving certain traditional winemaking techniques like the use of amphoras where local grapes such as Greco, Fiano and also Coda di Volpe perform well. The two-day tasting was a true pleasure for me, with sparkling, whites, reds and rosè from all over Campania, over 200 samples from 90 producers. I focused mostly on the sparkling wines which are showing interesting improvements. While at the beginning, most sparkling wine from Campania was Charmat method from some of the semi-aromatic grapes of the region, mainly Falanghina, but now several traditional method wines are becoming more and more popular with large improvements in terms of quality.
Some of Alessia Canarino favorite wines:
Paparelli Luca – Spumante BRUT S.A. Funambolo
This tank method wine from Asprinio is a kind of a long Charmat, with a year of lees aging. It shows mild autolytic notes on the nose, like brioche and crackers, but dominated by apple and lime notes. The flavours are all well balanced, showing nice fruit concentration and zesty acidity.
Vitamatta – Vino spumante Traditional method Principe 2021
Again Asprinio grape, but in a traditional method wine, that shows all the potential of this native grape. The wine shows finesse with stone fruit flavour well blended with dough, cheddar, wood and burnt matches, showing the volcanic nature of the area of production. A wine worth of being tasted also for the interesting story of the estate. The vineyards, as well as the other crops grown in estate, were confiscated by the Camorra but managed by a cooperative that employs mentally disabled people – here it comes the name Vite matta or “crazy vines”.
Casa Setaro – Caprettone Spumante Metodo Classico Brut Nature – Pietrafumante
From the slopes of the volcano Vesuvio, this estate always show elegant and complex sparkling wine under the brand name Pietrafumante. From the white native grape Caprettone, this is aged almost 3 years and show intriguing notes of citrus well integrated with walnut, breadcrust and dough.
Masseria Piccirillo – VSQ Brut – Prima Gioia
This sparkling wine from Pallagrello grape, ages 2 years on lees and shows development with notes of dried fruit and breadcrust, well balanced with exotic fruit notes. Fine and lingering bubbles that show a nice refreshing touch and acidity.
The whites worthy of some patience with great potential for aging are:
Casa d’Ambra – Ischia DOC Biancolella – Tenuta Frassitelli 2023: bright, clear, this wine shows its marine origine, well mixed with citrus notes.
Cantina di Lisandro – Terre del Volturno Pallagrello Bianco IGP – Lancella 2023: the youth of this wine is shown by the greenish gold color, with an intense bouquet of herbs and wildflowers and a salty, zesty character.
Salvatore Martusciello – Campi Flegrei Falanghina – Settevulcani 2023: The power of the volcanic region concentrated in a wine that is intensely scented of cedar, sulphur, burnt matches, still young but suitable for long aging.
Donnachiara – Fiano di Avellino 2023: the typical notes of Fiano are all concentrated here, from stone fruits to gooseberry to hazelnut. This is such a clean straightforward wine but still ample and full bodied.
Di Meo – Fiano di Avellino Riserva Colle dei Cerri 2008: great finesse, minerality and lingering acidity. This wine shows unexpected aromatic notes of fennel, but on the palate it is refreshing, salty and elegant.
Traerte – Campania Greco IGP Fuori Limite – Le Vecchie Vigne 2020: the so-called “red in a white appearance” is all here. This white is deep, clean, intense, mineral, salty and even tannic as the best Greco di Tufo should be. Here we are with a selection of old vines that perform incredibly well and represent Greco at its best.
Other interesting wines were:
Vesuvio Bianco 61.37 Contradae 2021 Casa Setaro
Greco di Tufo Alexandros 2023 Colli di Lapio
Fiano di Avellino Xoròs Bio 2021 Stefania Barbot
Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna 2023 Benito Ferrara
Campania Falanghina IGP Sabbia Vulcanica s.a. Agnanum
Campi Flegrei Falanghina Settevulcani 2023 Salvatore Martusciello
Campi Flegrei Falanghina 2021 Contrada Salandra
Fiano di Avellino 2022 Colli di Lapio
This was definitely a roadshow of the best expression of Campania viticulture and landscape. For a full immersion in this promising growing region, Campania Stories is wine not to be missed. And now I can only wait for the 2025 edition, which will be hosted by the Volcano Vesuvio.