The wines of Southern Italy are waiting to be discovered. The Italian wine region that stretches south of Rome through the toe and heel of Italy’s famous boot has produced excellent wines since the Greeks crossed the sea and planted vines there some 3,000 years ago. Yet each season brings new fine wines to try from the Southern Italian regions of Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
Southern Italy has abundant warmth and sunshine, providing agreeable conditions for grapevines. Large-scale farming operations, especially on the relatively flat Puglia terrain, traditionally served as a major source of inexpensive, bulk Italian wine. The hillier sections of the region – Southern Italy is dotted with both active and extinct volcanoes and their unique soil – have long produced the region’s most notable fine wines.
In Campania, home to Naples and Mt. Vesuvius, these include the flavorful dry white wines Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Basilicata, further south, is home to Tuscany and Piedmont. Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s boot, produces robust reds, including Salice Salentino, made from the Negroamaro grape.
Italy’s two largest islands also produce special wines. Sardinia is known for Cannonau, a dry red wine with a pronounced bouquet and ripe fruit flavors. Sicily, where winemakers once focused on sweet and fortified wines, now produces some of Italy’s most exciting red wines with both native and international grape varieties.
Southern Italy has abundant warmth and sunshine, providing agreeable conditions for grapevines. Large-scale farming operations, especially on the relatively flat Puglia terrain, traditionally served as a major source of inexpensive, bulk Italian wine. The hillier sections of the region – Southern Italy is dotted with both active and extinct volcanoes and their unique soil – have long produced the region’s most notable fine wines.
In Campania, home to Naples and Mt. Vesuvius, these include the flavorful dry white wines Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Basilicata, further south, is home to Tuscany and Piedmont. Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s boot, produces robust reds, including Salice Salentino, made from the Negroamaro grape.
Italy’s two largest islands also produce special wines. Sardinia is known for Cannonau, a dry red wine with a pronounced bouquet and ripe fruit flavors. Sicily, where winemakers once focused on sweet and fortified wines, now produces some of Italy’s most exciting red wines with both native and international grape varieties.