To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Italian wine fair VitignoItalia, founded in 2005 and based in Naples, Campania, I was invited to a horizontal tasting of wines from the founding year, 2005, all from Campania. The tasting took place on November 24, 2025, at the Grand Hotel Santa Lucia in Naples. The tasting also served to demonstrate the great potential of Campanian wines. My overall impression: the wines were excellent, still at their peak, and truly showcased the region's potential. There is certainly much to discover in Campania.

Campania or Italian Campagna

The region around Naples is a prime example. Although viticulture there isn't as contiguous as in other regions, the vineyard area still covers approximately 41,000 hectares. The terroirs are particularly interesting. The area is divided into five sub-regions: three on the coast—Casterta, Napoli, and Salerno—with a more Mediterranean maritime climate, and two inland—Benevento and Avellino—with a continental climate. In the western parts of these latter two, many soils, or terroirs, are found with volcanic ash deposits, allowing the vine roots to penetrate deeply.

A total of 15 DOC and 4 DOCG areas have been designated, which can also be found on the attached map, with established quality criteria, particularly regarding the permitted grape varieties. (DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, meaning Controlled Designation of Origin, and thus quality wine. DOCG, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, is the highest level. And all are also considered DOPs – protected designations of origin.) More information about the DOC and DOCG areas of Campania can be found here. Naturally, there is an abundance of indigenous grape varieties, but the most important are the white Falanghina and the red Aglianico, which thrives particularly well on volcanic soils. There are few large wineries, but many small family-run operations that are either members of cooperatives or deliver grapes to larger producers.

The 2005 wines tasted – a total of seven:

1. "Facetus" 2005 Taburno Falanghina DOC, Fontanavecchia Wine Estate

In 82030 Torrecuso (BN), I noted: A very fine, even after 20 years, exceptionally pure and very present aroma with notes of dried apricots, Williams pears, and vanilla; on the palate very compact, surprisingly fresh, perfectly balanced, subtly salty with a still very lively finish that also fades slightly salty. Grown 100% on volcanic soils. The DOC designation, which was still valid in 2005, has since been changed and now covers a larger area under the designation Falanghina del Sannio DOC.

The 15 hectares of the vineyard are situated at an altitude of approximately 300 meters on the slopes of Mount Taburno in the interior of the country. Facetus is the best vineyard site.

2. „Pietraincantenata“ 2005 Cilento Fiano DOP from the Azienda Agricola Luigi Maffini

A Fiano, an indigenous white wine grape of southern Italy: A well-ripened, delicate aroma, rounded, with notes of candied fruit; very compact on the palate, a delight, fine fruit, very well balanced and wonderfully refined; long finish, very elegant, oscillating between elegance and dignified maturity. Great potential! Cilento is located in southern Campania, closer to the coast. The estate in 84050 Giungano (SA) is run by the Maffini family and cultivates over 14 hectares of vines on clay-limestone soils.

Cilento in the south of Campania borders the coast. Luigi Maffini and his wife Raffaella Gallo had both studied agricultural sciences with a focus on oenology in Naples and decided in the early 90s to fulfill their dream of owning their own large winery on the estate where Luigi's father had once planted a small vineyard. Today, almost 20 hectares of certified organic vines are cultivated with great passion. The vines are mainly located on the hills of the coastal mountains with calcareous soils above 84050 Giungano (Sa). In the meantime, a large manor house with modern cellars towers above it. They are also happy to consult with oenology professor Luigi Moio, who is running his top wine estate Quintodecimo in Campania, too. (see below).

3. “Fiodora” 2005 Costa d'Almalfi DOC, Cantine Marisa Cuomo:

The golden color is striking; on the nose, captivating ripeness with notes of honey and caramel; wonderfully smooth on the palate, inviting you to immerse yourself in it, with hints of peach compote and a gentle peppery undertone that lingers through to the finish, enveloped in ripeness. A rich, delicate wine. The DOC region lies south of Naples on the coast of the same name (see header photo). Since its founding in 1980, Cantine Marisa Cuomo has been the estate of Andrea Ferraioli and Marisa Cuomo, encompassing 10 hectares of land. The houses in 84010 Furore (SA), the home of the winery, as well as the vines, seem to cling to the sheer cliffs above the sea.

4. “Vigna Quintodemico” 2005 Taurasi DOCG Riserva, Quintodecimo Società Agricola

The color of this white Falanghina, tending towards reddish gold, already hints at a mature wine; on the nose, it's a true sherry, yet impeccably clean with notes of brittle and caramel; then follows a surprisingly lively body, very dry and truly interesting, like an old library, almost aristocratic; in the finish, summing everything up, a magnificently elegant sherry of high quality. 

As the map shows, the DOCG region of Taurasi, and the town of Mirabella Eclano AV (postal code 83036), where the winery is located, are situated deep in the interior of Campania and benefit from the higher rainfall on the edge of the Apennines. In 2005, Falanghina was still permitted as part of the Taurasi DOCG; today, it is restricted to Aglianico.

The driving force behind the wine estate, Professor Luigi Moio, who also serves as President of the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine), the global winegrowers' association, says: “Wine has shaped my entire life. A partnership that began at my very birth, at the estate of my father, Michele Moio, a traditional Campanian producer who revived Falerno, that famous wine of the ancient Romans, in the 1950s. Home and wine cellar were one, and my father drew me into his magical world almost playfully from an early age. So it was only natural that I studied oenology. My passion for scientific research led me to a research center in Burgundy, where I intensively studied the scientific aspects of wine aroma from 1990 to 1994.”

5. “Pago dei fusi” 2005 Taurasi DOCG, Terredora di Paolo Società Semplice Agricola:

A red Aglianico, its color already showing distinct golden highlights that hint at its ripeness; a very lively aroma with notes of cherry liqueur, suggesting the alcohol; on the palate, a ripe, very well-balanced body, finely polished, not at all tired, with still good acidity and well-balanced with a lively finish. A wine of wonderfully restrained temperament.

Founded in 1978, the 200-hectare Terredora di Paolo wine estate can rightfully claim a leading role in Campania's winemaking renaissance. The region, once prized by the Romans, had fallen into decline due to political turmoil and, in particular, the phylloxera epidemic. The family estate traces its origins back to Walter Mastroberardino, a tenacious southern Italian who began producing the first bottles at the inherited vineyard soon after World War II. In 1978, he was able to acquire additional properties and built a winery in Montefusco, located in the inland region of Avellino, which at that time was still relatively undeveloped. Today, the wine estate is managed by his children, Paolo and Daniela Mastroberardino.

6. “Vigna del Vulcano” 2005 Vesuvio DOP Lacrymona Christi white, Cantine Villa Dora

For their red wines, the Piedirosso and Aglianico varieties are the main focus: Very strong color; on the nose a great, well-balanced red wine aroma with notes of Morello cherry compote, dark chocolate, nougat and a hint of tar; on the tongue round with a very nice finish, balancing between calmer maturity and mature temperament.

The 12 hectares of the vineyards stretch across the slopes of Mount Vesuvius at an altitude of 250–300 meters. Research and continuous development are the guiding principles of Cantine Villa Dora in 80040 Terzigno. They have been collaborating with renowned oenologists since 2001 and also cultivate an olive grove. White, red, and rosé wines are produced in the DOP Vesuvio Lacrymona Christi bianco vineyard. The name 'bianco' refers to the region, not the wine's color.

7. “Vigna Camarato” 2005 Falerno del Massico Rosso DOC, Azienda Vitivinicola Villa Matilde:

A very intense aroma with lots of fruit, including notes of cherry cake, cherry liqueur, and morello cherry compote; a full body with interesting fruit such as sea buckthorn and a hint of orange peel, subtly salty; an elegant, very well-balanced finish. The DOC Falerno del Massico is located in northern Campania on the coast.

The story of the Villa Matilde Avallone begins in the 1960s with Francesco Paolo Avallone, a lawyer with a keen interest in the wines of antiquity. Fascinated by Pliny's accounts and the verses of Virgil, Martial, and Horace about Falerno, he decided to revive this legendary wine, which had disappeared at the beginning of the last century. With the support of friends, including several professors from the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Naples, he set out to trace the ancient Falerno variety. A few of these vines, which had miraculously survived the phylloxera plague of the late 19th century, were replanted with the help of local farmers in the very place where they had once thrived: the Massico region. It was there that he founded Villa Matilde Avallone. Today, the business is run by his children, Maria Ida and Salvatore Avallone.

Text: Dieter Simon, publisher and editor-in-chief of bonvinitas. Photos: PR, unless otherwise stated.