Welcome to www.wineencyclopedia.com. I will be writing weekly blogs about one of my all time favorite things: wine! Through my column we will enjoy traveling, tasting, and learning about wine, regions and vineyards together. Salute!

 One of my all time favorite regions in Italy is Campania. Campania takes up the “front ankle” of Italy’s boot shape. Known for it’s infamous Amalfi Coast, Naples, and terrifying active volcano, Mount Vesuvius, it can be easily overlooked as a renowned wine region, especially since many of the wines are local table wines. However, if we take a closer look at the local bottled wines, land and climate, we will discover that its reputation does not do it justice.

 Wine making in this region dates all the way back to 4 B.C, when the Greeks brought over grape varieties, recognizing the rich soil and minerals produced by Mount Vesuvius and the wooded hills of the province known as Avellino-perfect for viticulture. Avellino boasts a cool, wooded climate and is a bit more inland, while grapes grown a bit further south and closer to the coast, in Ravello, for example, are grown in a warmer climate with a bit of a rockier soil. Some major wineries are based in Avellino, producing millions of bottles of wine per year, including varieties such as Taurasi, Greco, and Fiano, to name a few.

 One of the most popular wines is arguably Taurasi, a dryer, spunky wine that must be aged a few years. It is said that all the volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius floated into the Taurasi Valley, giving unique mineral flavoring to the grapes there.

 Greco, a white variety, is also very popular, with an earthy taste, and of course, best when aged. It’s an easily forgotten wine, gaining popularity only in the past few years. Try it for a taste of southern Italy.

 Rumor has it that the Fiano grape variety has been around since before the Middle Ages and it is said that the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, ordered three measures of the wine in his register. Some varieties are sweet, used for a sparkling wine, while other winemakers can produce more of a dry flavor, going well with seafood dishes. Whatever you find, there seems to be something different for every taste bud. 
 My personal favorite: Lacryma Christi,, or Tears of Christ. Whenever I drink this wine, it takes me back to the first night I ever tasted it. I was in Amalfi, Italy, in a friend’s restaurant underneath the cathedral after it closed. It was a hot summer night, and we opened a bottle of wine, drank, talked, and played the piano, each note bouncing off the walls of the empty restaurant. The wine tasted clean and dry, full of minerals from the volcanic and hillside soils from which the grapes were grown.    

Whatever a person’s preference is, Campania is a region that can easily be overlooked in terms of elegant and well designed wines. But please don’t overlook it, because once discovered, the history and taste is one of a kind, beckoning wine snobs and rookies alike for just one more glass.

Share your wine thoughts with me, and I will use them in upcoming columns.
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