Exploring the wineries of Irpinia
Petilia – petiliaaziendaagricola.it
Brother and sister team, Roberto and Teresa Bruno, dedicate themselves enthusiastically to the land they inherited from their family and love wholeheartedly. They set up their winery 25 years ago and since the start have concentrated on native-variety wines including Greco di Tufo, Fiano, Falanghina and Aglianico which grow at their 20ha vineyards. Having restructured the cellar – where Roberto is resident winemaker – and working on a charming tasting room with a spacious veranda overlooking woodland and vines, the next step will be a bed & breakfast in a building that they’re currently restructuring.
Wine to try: Quattro Venti, Greco di Tufo Riserva DOCG
From vines grown at 600m asl on a combination of mineral-rich volcanic and clay based soils, this golden-hued Greco di Tufo is a deliciously complex wine full of floral and citrus notes with a fresh minerality. It’s perfect with white meats and pulse-based dishes.
Donnachiara – www.donnachiara.com
Owned by the Pettito family, the estate is named after Donna Chiara, great-grandmother of the current CEO, Ilaria Petitto. Donna Chiara ran her farm over 100 years ago with independence and insight and her love and understanding for the land has passed down to Ilaria through her mother, also called Chiara. Ilaria leads a largely female team at the estate, which was founded in 2005 and has 23ha under vine surrounding the winery. The vines benefit from the hilly position at the village of Montefalcione and the vicinity of woodlands of chestnut, oak and juniper. Leading consultant winemaker Riccardo Cottarella helps the family to make wines that have made a name for themselves as being fresh, elegant and extremely contemporary.
Wine to try: Taurasi Riserva DOCG
Made only in the best years, this intense yet approachable Taurasi Riserva comes from carefully selected Aglianico grapes that are grown in clay soils on the estate. It’s an elegant wine, with a rich repertoire of aromas ranging from fresh berries through mature fruit, vanilla and sweet spices.
Tenuta Sarno – www.tenutasarno1860.it
Maura Sarno is at the helm of the family winery which has a single plot of vines planted exclusively with the Fiano variety just outside Avellino, Irpinia’s main city, at Candida, a small village so-named due to the characteristic white rock. The cellar and tasting room are in an elegant, historical building in Avellino itself. It was Maura’s father who first bought the land, through his passion for the countryside, despite working in a different profession and Maura too put her law qualifications on hold when she inherited the vineyard. Various versions of Fiano are made including a fresh citrus and mint-infused pas dosé spumante and a Fiano di Avellino DOCG Riserva that is ideal for ageing.
Wine to try: Emme, Fiano di Avellino DOCG
This delicious Fiano gains its intensity from 50% of the must spending a month macerating on the skins, followed by a 12-month period with the fine lees after assembly. Citrus dominates the complex aromas, leading to floral notes, a freshness recalling sea-spray and a long harmonious finish.
Villa Raiano – www.villaraiano.com
The Basso family have produced olive oil for several generations, and brothers Simone (a pro musician) and Sabino first built their statuesque hilltop winery here at San Michele di Serino about 16 years ago. The structure was conceived to resemble wine barrels and the impactful interior does just that, with its circular layout and 12m-high wooden ceiling. The location is ideal for events, with spaces ranging from a large panoramic terrace with views across the whole valley, to the atmospheric winery. There’s an arty, contemporary feel throughout, thanks also to many paintings by Sabino’s wife. The winery’s 33ha of organic vineyards are dotted around the province and wines include five crus, three of which are Fiano di Avellino DOCG.
Wine to try: Alimata, Fiano di Avellino DOCG
Grapes from a single 2ha east-facing plot are hand harvested for this enticingly elegant, intensely herby Fiano. Fermentation is in steel and the wine spends twelve months on the fine lees for a smooth roundness, then there’s a further twelve-month’s bottle-ageing.
Cantine Marzo – www.cantinedimarzo.it
A visit to the four-hundred year-old winery where the first ever Greco di Tufo was made is a must for visitors to the area. The atmospheric historic cellars occupy a series of tunnels on several floors carved into the volcanic tuff rock at Tufo, making use of gravity to move the grape must and wine. Scipione Di Marzo first made his wines here in the mid 1600s and the cellars are still used by his descendents today; current owner Ferrante di Somma hosts wine tastings here himself. The winery has 22ha under vine in various spots around Tufo and wines include several versions of Greco di Tufo, including three crus and two Traditional Method sparklers.
Wine to try: Greco di Tufo DOCG
Herby and citrus-infused with a fresh character and smoky overtones, this, although not a cru, is the winery’s finest Greco di Tufo. Free-run juice from the best grapes growing in sulphur-rich plots around Tufo are fermented in steel, the wine spends six months on the lees and has partial malolactic fermentation.
Fonzone – www.fonzone.it
The estate was founded around 20 years ago by Lorenzo Fonzone Caccese, who fell in love with this gorgeous spot near Paternopoli in the Taurasi DOCG area, the eastern side of Irpinia and one of the entire area’s highest corners. The winery which covers an area of about 2,000 square metres, largely underground, was designed to blend into the landscape. Since then, Fonzone has developed an admirable range, including Mattodà, a Campi Taurasini DOC which, like Taurasi DOCG, also requires a minimum of 85% Aglianico but has fewer restrictions regarding winemaking resulting in more youthful, approachable wines. Each year a special limited edition named Elle Effe Ci (the founder’s initials) is made from the most outstanding of the vintage’s micro-vinifications.
Wine to try: Oikos, Greco di Tufo DOCG Riserva
This extraordinary wine is made from a small plot of 40-year old vines of an ancient clone of Greco with smaller grapes than today’s Greco. Fermentation takes place for 50% of the grapes in oak and the rest in concrete for a memorable wine that is intensely herby and fresh.
Feudi di San Gregorio – www.feudi.it
Art, design and culture are fundamental for the Feudi di San Gregorio winery and creatives of the highest calibre are involved in all aspects from label design to winery architecture. As the Capalbo family, who own the 300ha estate, often recall, making a wine requires the same creative process as a work of art. In 2024 they won the Old Vine Hero award for protecting native varietals and century-old Aglianico vines. Visit the winery at Sorbo Serpico to get a taste of this philosophy, stroll through the rose and herb gardens and eat at the stylish Borgo San Gregorio restaurant. You can even stay at the winery’s contemporary countryside wine resort. This winery really epitomises the renaissance of southern Italy in the wine world.
Wine to try: Serpico, Irpinia Aglianico DOC
Hundred-year old vines from the Dal Re vineyard provide the grapes for this rich and complex wine, which is characterised by fresh blackcurrant and cherry notes with spicy overtones and a smooth chocolatey finish. The wine spends 18 months in wooden barrels.
Tenuta Cavalier Pepe – www.tenutapepe.it
Winning 14th place in the 2024 classification of the World’s Best Vineyards (first among the Italians listed) highlights the passion and skill that drive the Pepe family at their winery at Luogosano, heart of the Taurasi DOCG area of eastern Irpinia. Milena Pepe is the enthusiastic winemaker behind the range which varies from Traditional Method zero dosage spumante made with local varieties to the rich and potent Taurasi DOCG Riserva, La Loggia del Cavaliere. Winery experiences include truffle and cheese-themed tours, archeology and wine, as well as regular tastings and meals at the estate’s La Veduta restaurant.
Wine to try: Appio, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC
This elegant Aglianico bursting with fruit is sourced from a single-vineyard of 55 year-old vines growing at 400m.asl. Fermentation takes place in amphorae where the wine ages for two years, with a small percentage spending time in wood, followed by a further two years of bottle ageing.
Tenuta del Meriggio – www.tenutadelmeriggio.it
A 15 year-old family-run estate run by Bruno Pizza together with his daughter, Emilia, at the medieval village of Montemiletto, at the heart of Irpinia. The family is committed to sustainable strategies and the winery, which has a water purification system and solar panels, is surrounded by vines, while more of the total 25ha under vine are scattered around the area in prime locations. In addition to the excellent DOCGs of Taurasi, Greco di Tufo and Fiano, the family makes some intriguing Coda di Volpe including spumante – the name of the local variety of grape literally means ‘tail of the fox’ due to the shape of its bunches.
Wine to try: Colle delle Ginestre, Fiano di Avellino DOCG
One of the winery’s Colli range from grapes selected from the best hillside plots, this delicious Fiano spends 12 months on the fine lees for a seductive complexity. Savoury herb and zesty lemon notes combine with a fresh minerality and mango-like length; a good partner for spicy dishes.
Di Meo – www.dimeo.it
Based at Salza Irpina, just 15km from Irpinia’s main city, Avellino, around an elegant 18th century hunting lodge built by princes, this family-run winery has plots in the most favoured areas for each local variety. Four Fiano vineyards surround the winery at over 500m.asl whereas the Vigna Olmo plot of Aglianico is the highest of the whole area at 870m.asl. The winery also has pre-phylloxera Aglianico vines, over a century old, trained to the historic starzeta method for the Don Generoso Aglianico IGT wine. Roberto Di Meo, the winemaker, hosts tastings – try also the Ratafià, a traditional liqueur made with Taurasi wine, herbs and cherry leaves.
Wine to try: Vittorio, Greco di Tufo Riserva DOCG
A prime example of the extraordinary ageing capacity of the white wines of Irpinia (the current release vintage for Vittorio is 2010). Grapes grown at 750m.asl are harvested slightly late and age for 12 years in steel on the fine lees for a harmonious wine full of minerality and golden fruit aromas.