Campania [kahm-PAH-nyah]
A wine-producing region that runs along the eastern coast of southern Italy and encompasses Naples and the surrounding area. Naples is the major city of Campania, Italy’s second most populous region. There are just over 100,000 vineyard acres. Most Campania wines are mediocre at best, as somewhat evidenced by the less than 4 percent of the total wine production that qualifies for DOC status—amazingly this percentage has increased significantly in the last decade. There is one DOCG, Taurasi, and nineteen DOCs in the area— Aglianico del Taburno, Aversa, Campi Flegrei, Capri, Castel San Lorenzo, Cilento, Costa d’Amalfi, Falerno del Massico, Fiano di Avellino, Galluccio, Greco di Tufo, Guardia Sanframondi or Guardiolo, Ischia, Penisola Sorrentina, Sannio, Sant’Agata dei Goti, Solopaca, Taburno, and Vesuvio. The standout among premium wine producers in this region is the family-run firm of Mastroberardino, which produces over half the DOC wine. The primary varieties here are Aglianico and Piedirosso for red and rosé wines and Asprinio, Fiano, greco, and Falanghina for white wines.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.