by Alessia Canarino
You could never be upset by the organization, the involvement and the precise communication that is around Campania Stories. It is a majestic event, hosted by the team of Miriade and Partners, a young and successufull communication agency from Campania, South Italy, hardly working all year around. And their major event is Campania Stories, a walk around tasting that yearly reunite wine writers from all over the Globe, that have also the opportunity to meet producers and winemakers. Big shout out to Diana, Massimo and Serena, the deus ex machina of this event, hosted last May in Sannio, a Northern corner of the region Campania.
Tenute del Gheppio, in Dugenta, was the venue of the 2 day tasting, where more than 50 wine writers from all over the world have tasted hundreds of samples submitted by more than 90 wineries.
Whites, reds, rosès and sparklings were all on the focus of the 2 day tasting and of the final walk around tastings open to trade and wine connoisseurs.
While the Anteprima was hosted in Benevento at Rocca dei Rettori, an ancient building in the heart of the city, it was a great opportunity to know the details of 2023 year in Campania, where, heavy rainshowers, mist and diurnal range caused some problems of mildew, but mainly affecting the quantity rather than quality of the wine.
And that is what came out by tasting the wines: all the whites where still very close, where the predominant banana and esters flavour lead the tasting toward an early bottling and just-fermented wine. Hopefully these notes will fade away with the aging, leaving the crispiness and aromatic notes of Fiano, Greco and Falanghina, the major grapes of the region.
But the big thing was about the wines from Caserta area, the Northern area of Campania, squeezed between Naples and Lazio, the region of Rome, where no DOCG exists but 4 DOC: Galluccio, Casavecchia di Pontelatone, Falerno del Massico and Aversa. An area rich of dead volcanos, where the soils are full of loose pumices and tuffs that enrich the clay with nutrients. Caserta wines mix history, tradition and innovation, thanks to the new generation.
Falerno del Massico is said to be the most ancient wine of Campania, already produced in the II century b.C. by the Romans, under the appellation “falernum”, according to the altitude of the vineyards. This red wine is now made from aglianico and primitivo, while the white falerno comes from mainly falanghina grapes. Here producers as Villa Matilde are doing a very good job to promote the wines abroad, while the other producer of the area, Porto di Mola, is focusing all its effort on the incoming, to offer visitors the best wine experience of the region as well as Masseria Felicia, where the heritage of the young Felicia who passed away years ago, has been proudly taken by her husband and daughter.
On the other hand, Aversa is a small area where a unique training system is still carried out. The so-called alberata is a very ancient way to grow vines, tied to fruit trees. Few rows still exists and the vine is still trained vertical, but the cost management is very high as any operation in the vineyard, from pruning, to trimming to harvesting is manual by ladders and vines grow 4/5 mts high.
The varieties are several and offer different expression, from the deep colored and alcoholic wines of the North of the region to tannic and deep wines of the South, while the reds from the coast tends to be lighter, paler and more acidic.
So, here it is a list of the wines from Caserta I loved the most – a new hidden wine jem of Campania:
CANTINA DI LISANDRO Terre del Volturno Pallagrello Bianco IGP Lancella 2023: very aromatic on the nose, lean and salty on mouth.
ALOIS Terre del Volturno Pallagrello Bianco IGP Morrone 2022: harsh acidity well balanced by some fruit cake notes, citrusy and lingering on mouth.
MASSERIA PICCIRILLO – VSQ Brut – Prima Gioia: a fully developed sparkling wine, showing great finesse with the lees notes fo breadcrust and the tangerine aromas
VITEMATTA – Vino spumante Traditional method Principe 2021: dough, cheddar wood and burnt matches, together with dried fruit notes and yoghurt. An elegant, refreshing summer wine.
NUGNES Falerno del Massico Rosso Riserva Dop Caleno 2016: deep, oaky with lingering tannins and licorice backtaste
VILLA MATILDE AVALLONE Campania Aglianico Igp Roccaleoni 2019: velvety, with great fruit concentration of raspberry and sour cherry.
PORTOLANO MARIO Campania Aglianico Igp Sei Pollici 2019: incredibly salty, vibrant, with the typical berry notes of aglianico, well blended with the contribution of the oak.
CANTINA DI LISANDRO Terre del Volturno Pallagrello Nero Igp Nero di Rena 2020: lean, clean and tannic. The elegance of pallagrello, with the power of the volcanic soil
SCARAMUZZO Terre del Volturno Casavecchia Igp Violabianca 2022: smooth, supple, deep and definitely ready to drink.
VIGNE CHIGI Terre del Volturno Igp Casavecchia 2022: balsamic, lingering and tannic, with notes of black berries together with spices from oak.
So looking forward the 2025 edition by the Vesuvio – this is what was spoiled – to taste more and discover new jems of this Souhtern Italian region.