Campania : VI Greco di Tufo DOCG

As you got to this appointment with two iconic wines : The Greco di Tufo DOCG wines They are the most iconic whites of Campania.

Greco di Tufo DOCG

Greco di Tufo DICG, is the most prestigious appellation of Greco inn the region. The appellation is located North of Avellino and includes seven townships of which Tufo, Santa Paolina and Montefusco are the most important. The sub zone could be on the wine Label. so check the label to understand where the wine is from.

The wines from Tufo are more elegant, paler in color, mineral and flinty. The ones from Santa Paolina and Montefusco are more structured and fruity.

Tufo is the original town that owes its name to the tufaceous subsoil that forms the hills where the town sits. It has also a huge content of sulfur, which represented the major industry in the late 19th century. The sulfur content gives the mineral character to the wines.

I visited the Winery of "Cantine di Marzo" which are the original winery back in the 16th century to vilify the Greco grape.

Somnium Scipionis is the Gran Cru from this winery. It is an extraordinary wine, if you can find it in USA it will probably cost around $30.

Sunlight yellow robe with golden reflections. It has a very classical style with a pronounced acidity and a certain saltiness to it. The nose has very defined notes of brine and a minerality that expresses itself through notes of flint. In the mouth the first impact is its freshness sustained by its acidity. The minerality combines with notes of citrus. The persistence is very long and underlined by its minerality and typical aftertaste of almond. When aged, the minerality becomes predominant. This is an ideal white wine for keeping.

The Feudi di San Gregorio winery, which we have already tried for their Falanghina, offers a good example of Greco di Tufo as well. I also visited this incredible and modern winery in the Avellino Province.

The perfume is intense and persistent. One can recall in the nose clear sensations of fruit. For the taste, one immediately perceives the broad acidity and the spicy minerality, typical of a vine culitvated in Tufo. Immediately following, there are soft notes of balsamic. This wine will cost around $40-$45.

The winery Mastroberardino , which we have also met for the Falanghina wine has a strong offering in the Greco di Tufo DOCG wine world.

COLOR Straw yellow.

BOUQUET Hints of chamomile, pear, ripe fruits and dried fruits.

TASTE Fresh, mineral, structured and persistent

FOOD PAIRINGS Appetizers

• Soups, shellfish

First courses

• Risottos and sea-food disches.

Second courses

• White meat, shellfish and fried fishes and vegetables.

• Cost between $21-$25

Other good examples of Greco di Tufo are Terradora Di Paolo Winery. Terredora Di Paolo is the result of the splitting between the Matroberardino brothers. So the tradition from the Mastroberardino has been imported in the Terredora winery as well. Dora di Paolo , the wife of Walter Mastroberardino was critical for the development of this iconic winery.

The long ripening season ensures a brilliant, luminous, deep golden colour with flashes of gold and green. An outstanding, elegant and balanced wine with captivating fragrances of white flowers, minerals, citrus, white fruit, pear and apple overlaid by subtle honey. The fine acidity melds well in the richness of the body and in the long aftertaste of mineral and fruit.

Food Pairings: shellfish, grilled fish, water buffalo mozzarella, Thai curry dishes, salmon, sea bass, grilled tuna or lemon-roasted chicken.

Cost $18-$23

The grapes are harvested in the first two weeks of October. The must fermented at cool temperatures using selected yeasts. The wine is aged on its lees in stainless steel for some months.

intense straw – yellow colour with rich and powerful fruity aromas of apricot, apple, peach and an attractive vegetal note. On the palate it is full bodied, soft and well balanced with an excellent acidity.

Food Pairings: Ideal with hors d’oeuvres, shellfish, grilled fish dishes, buffalo mozzarella, chicken and cold meat.

Cost: $16-$19

Qintodecimo are also great producers of Greco di Tufo.

Giallo D'Arles is a costly wine, almost the GRAN CRU of the Greco di Tufos. You can find it between $50-$60 per bottle.

The ancient yellow-golden colour, typical of the denomination, is more intense also thanks to the partial fermentation in new oak barrels and thanks to the complete absence of any clarification treatments. It is a white wine with the structure of a red wine, powerful and refined, characterized by a deep minerality blended with flavours of apricot and quince marmelade and by a full and fresh taste. Giallo d’Arles has also an extraordinary predisposition to maturation in bottle, obtaining year-by-year elegance, complexity and harmony. The name given to the wine is a tribute to Van Gogh’s favourite colour during his stay in Arles: a yellow which is a prelude of red.

As niche product, although in a different viticulture area, but always Greco. Its Capolino Berlingieri winery. I Have been also lucky to visit this small but beautiful winery that produces some hidden treasures.

The Appellation is Sannio DOC , being around Benevento and specifically Greco Sannio DOC.

This wine shows a straw yello color with green highlights . The nose shows a fruiy wine, with sweet fruits, floreal notes and citrus. The palate confirms the nose, with a good acidity with a long finish.