Irpinia wines — Stevie Kim talks with Ilaria Petitto

The fame of the historic district of &' Irpinia risks being associated only with the tragic earthquake that occurred in the area, which obscures the naturalistic merits of this land and the quality of the food and wine products that are produced here.

In fact, among the most renowned typical products of the region are Tufo Greek, Taurasi, Fiano d'Avellino and Aglianico, which are often tasted during blind tasting meetings organized by the Protection Consortium of which Ilaria is vice-president.

Ilaria, where are we right now?

We are part of the Feudi di S. Gregorio company, located in the territory of Avellino. More generally, we are in the Irpinia region, verdant and full of hills on which our famous vineyards grow; our Consortium will be twenty years old on April 24, 2023, and was created precisely to enhance the beauty of these places and the wines that are produced here. In fact, since 2003, Fiano d'Avellino and Greco di Tufo have become DOCG products, while the name of Taurasi is even older, since it dates back ten years earlier

Irpinia is a historic province that in Avellino alone has about three hundred producers, divided between the few large estates and the many smaller ones. Only eight locations produce Greco di Tufo — Chianche, Petruro Irpino, Torrioni, Montefusco, Santa Paolina, Altavilla Irpina, Prata di Principato Ultra and of course Tufo. The other two DOCGs are much larger.

It is worth mentioning Lapio and Montefalcione, the only cities where the DOCG of Taurasi and Fiano overlap. The view of Taurasi, however, is really beautiful!

The territory is also very varied, ranging from 300 to 1000 meters above sea level, where the grapes reach a maximum altitude of 800 m above sea level. Fiano d'Avellino is made from high altitude vineyards, often located between 600 and 800 meters; Aglianico, for its part, can be a hilly wine, slow to mature, or, as happens in Montemarano, it can be located higher, in a colder

To communicate the denominations, we organize blind tastings, to ensure that there are no disagreements between the more than 500 members of the Consortium - Having to choose a dozen labels to present, it is impossible to satisfy everyone in a single event!

The promotion of the territory is central to the Consortium. What are the plans for the future?

Unfortunately, even if it may seem to us that we are in a lucky location, kissed by tourism and known throughout Italy, it is actually less obvious that people know Irpinia.

Here there are centuries of history to discover, if you want to pay attention to the landscape of the entire region and not just of its capital or beaches. Over the course of a two-week vacation, it's really worth spending a day or two to get to know this territory.

Back to wines: what are the differences between Greco and Fiano?

For me they are very different. Fiano is semi-aromatic, with a touch of almond, dried fruit, hazelnuts: it is a white that has aging potential, just like Greek. The latter, however, has as its salient characteristic its minerality, body and acidity, which are felt at the first sip. Among the two, Fiano has the largest territory, but Greek has a larger volume of production, also because of its greater fame and popularity

Finally, Taurasi: a red that competes with the others.

Campania is known for its white wines, but this red is a good card to play to challenge the brands of the North. It is the latest harvest in Italy, being harvested in November, in the rain, under very special weather conditions: currently, it is the red with the best quality/price ratio, thus making it an accessible wine ready to make itself known

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Stevie Kim