A wine tour in Campania is the opportunity to come into contact with a winemaking tradition that has existed for twenty-seven centuries. If not even longer. Certainly the Greek colonists in the 8th century BC were already cultivating vines in this region and since then, thanks to fertile soil and a favorable climate, grapes have remained the protagonist among local crops just as wine is among the traditional excellences.

Today, Campania wines are of top quality, perfectly capable of holding their own against other more renowned Italian wines and born almost exclusively from native vines including Aglianico, Falanghina and Greco, just to name a few of the best known. Let's set off immediately for a wine tour in Campania, a circular route between the coast and the hinterland to discover the local wines that are definitely not to be missed.

Wine tour in Campania, where to go

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Where to go for a perfect wine tour in Campania? The answer is everywhere! It might seem like a joke but it's not because Campania is truly a region where the wine tradition is particularly rich. Basically every province has its own cellars, its own grapes and its own wines, to be accompanied from time to time by the different local specialties.

From the mountains of Avellino to the sea of ​​Procida, from the slopes of Vesuvius to the woods of Benevento, wine lovers will always find a bottle to uncork, also passing through Naples, where the watchword is: variety. The capital of Campania, in fact, has its own food and wine traditions that everyone is fond of, but here it's very easy to find aromas and flavors from the rest of the region, too. Start your wine tour right here, maybe. Visit all the beauties of Naples and then treat yourself to a tasting in one of the many wine bars or restaurants that you can find in the city, to have a first taste of what awaits you in the next stops.

Wine Tour in Campania: the volcanic wines

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Let's begin the wine tour in Campania a few kilometers from Naples, getting to know the volcanic wines of the region. These wines come from grapes grown on particularly fertile soils rich in minerals that give them unique characteristics. Italy, a land rich in volcanoes, has many of them, but those of Vesuvius, Pompeii and Campi Flegrei are very ancient wines, considered of great value even in the times of the ancient Romans.

Today there is a consortium to protect Vesuvian wines. Vesuvio DOP, white, red or rosé, comes from native vines with well-defined organoleptic properties that give it a strong identity. Vesuvio Lacryma Christi DOP is probably the most appreciated of this group.

The Pompeian IGP wines are no less, in terms of quality and character. Despite the name, this family also includes wines whose grapes grow on the coast and in the Campi Flegrei area.

More volcanic wines of Campania: wines of Ischia

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Let's continue our wine tour in Campania by returning to Naples and embarking for the wonderful green island: Ischia. In about an hour by hydrofoil it's possible to reach what is one of the three gems of the Gulf of Naples together with Capri and Procida.

Ischia awaits us with its beaches, the Aragonese Castle, and its spas. It is in fact a volcanic island and here, among the most beautiful colors of the Mediterranean, vines have been growing for millennia despite the difficult conformation of the territory, made up of steep terraces. Then as now, this has never stopped the local winemakers and the island was called aenaria, that is, land of wines, already by the ancient Romans.

There are three native vines, here, Forastera, Pedrosso and the most famous, Biancolella. All three are grown only in Campania.

Sorrento Peninsula and Amalfi Coast, the vineyards on the sea

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From the Gulf of Naples, let's move a little further south, towards the Gulf of Salerno. Here we find the Sorrento peninsula, which a few kilometers after Sorrento becomes the Amalfi Coast. The high and rocky coast, squeezed between the sea and the mountains, offers seascapes of exceptional beauty, trekking paths among the most beautiful in Italy and a highly respected food and wine tradition.

The typical wines of Sorrento are the Falaghina and an Aglianico also known as Southern Barolo due to its similarity to a famous Piedmontese wine. Then there are the Greco and the Piedirosso. The Lettere, the Gragnano and the Sorrento are three wines produced only in the municipalities from which they take their name and whose quality was known even in ancient times. Authors such as Horace and Pliny, in fact, mentioned them in their writings.

Despite a difficult orography, on the Amalfi Coast among woderful villages such as Positano, Ravello and Vietri, the vines already mentioned are grown as well, together with others typical almost exclusively of this area, such as Ginestra, Pepella, Ripolo and Tintore.

The Wine Tour in Campania stops in Cilento

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Let's continue along the coast, still south. Our Wine Tour now takes us to Cilento, a land known for the beauty of its natural parks, for its enchanting seaside villages, for the charm of archaeological sites such as Paestum and Velia. The entire Cilento area is a UNESCO heritage site and the local wines definitely live up to expectations.

Under the Cilento DOC we can find red, white and rosé wines that are produced in an area of ​​fifty-four municipalities known for its food and wine heritage. Let's try the white, a dry wine with fruity notes, or a full-flavoured red, and how could we miss the rosé, fresh and rich in aroma? All three are born from a blend of local grapes, but there is also a single-varietal, the Aglianico del Cilento DOC, excellent for accompanying local meats.

Irpinia and Avellino's wines

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Let's leave the coast, now, to head towards the peaks of the inland Apennines, and precisely in Irpinia. We are on the border between Campania, Puglia and Basilicata, where the vine grows at higher altitudes, on high hills, and on volcanic and clayey soils.

The type of soil, an almost mountainous climate, and in addition production methods that range between tradition and innovation, give life to high-quality wines. Furthermore, Irpinia's wine production is a very important part of the local culture, so much so that the railway that connects the most important city, Avellino, with the rest of the province, is nicknamed the wine railway.

Local wines such as Greco di Tufo, Taurasi and Fiano di Avellino are known worldwide and they are not the only ones. Coda di Volpe and Falanghina also enjoy deserved fame. All have the Irpinia DOC denomination.

Taburno's wines

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We remain in the hinterland of Campania, north of Avellino to reach Taburno. We are now in the province of Benevento, an ancient and beautiful Lombard town to visit and to consider as a starting point to explore the area.

Here, among beautiful mountain landscapes and with a mild and not very rainy climate, there are also many beautiful rural villages, authentic hidden gems. Some, like Solopaca and Sant'Agata dei Goti, also give their name to some famous Campania wines.

The flagships among the vines of this area are Aglianico and Falaghina, red and white respectively, but the choice is wide. Greco, Coda di Volpe, Sciscinoso, Piedirosso and so on. A Wine Tour in Campania must necessarily stop here, because the quality is really high.

Wine Tour in Campania, last stop in Caserta

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To end the Campania Wine Tour in style, let's head back to the coast, stopping in Caserta and its province, in particular in Aversa. Here in fertile the lands bordering the Campi Flegrei, a particular grape variety is grown, the Asprinio. The wines of this region are therefore only white, very popular in the sparkling version, a little less so in the still version.

If the Royal Palace of Caserta is the main attraction of the place for tourists and art lovers, viticulture enthusiasts will instead be able to appreciate a particular traditional cultivation method. Around here, vines up to ten meters high are still quite common, which require ladders and aerial platforms to harvest the grapes.

Let's finally return to Naples, with a lot more experience on the wines of Campania and as we wander among hits beauties, let's have fun finding them all in the many shops or restaurants of the city!