As you look around Irpinia, you can’t help but notice the wonderful landscape that surrounds you. Stop for a moment and you’ll see a seductive panorama of green hills and endless rows of vines.
Irpinia is a land of wine, an ambassador for a vast and varied winemaking heritage, with excellent products recognized nationally and internationally.
In the province, wine is in the air. You can glimpse it on the red cheeks of the village elders, in the hands of those chatting after work at the downtown bar, in the tractors that slowly roll down the street.
Every wine in this area bears witness to history, territory, culture, and traditions.
There are three main grape varieties: Aglianico (red), Fiano, and Greco (white). These three are joined by a series of “minor” grape varieties, which make up a unique ampelographic heritage.
Taurasi DOCG wine
The 3 DOCGs present in the area are Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino, and Greco di Tufo. Taurasi is the first wine to receive the Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin not only in the province, but in all of Southern Italy.
The regulations stipulate that it be made primarily from Aglianico grapes (85%) from the 17 municipalities indicated, with a minimum aging of 3 years, necessary to smooth the tannins and acidity that characterize the grape.
A powerful, complex, and rich wine, characterized by intense aromas, known as “The Barolo of the South.”
History
The wine takes its name from the town of Taurasi, one of the municipalities where Aglianico grapes are grown; an ancient grape variety, a messenger of time, brought to these areas by the Greeks in the 7th-6th centuries BC.
Since then, there have been numerous testimonies to the value and quality of the area’s production, from Titus Livius to Aragonese documents, to Valagara who, in 1880, wrote, “Here Bacchus can have his kingdom […].”
The history of the last century speaks of a symbolic wine, the protagonist of the so-called “Wine Railway” in the 1930s, when wagons full of Aglianico reached the world’s main wine districts.
In 1950, Taurasi suffered a setback due to phylloxera, but subsequently resumed its growth.
In 1968, Taurasi experienced one of its greatest expressions thanks to the Mastroberardino family of Atripalda, capable of enchanting the palates of critics around the world and “sitting at the table” with the world’s greatest producers.
Since then, the extraordinary quality of this wine has been maintained in several vintages. In 1970, the first Taurasi DOC was born. Then, with new stylistic and interpretative models (the use of barriques or large Slavonian oak barrels) and the emergence of new labels, Taurasi exploded, earning DOCG recognition in 1993, the only one in Central and Southern Italy until 2003.
Taurasi today
Nowadays, there are many excellent wineries and producers. Every year, the most important wine guides and competitions are filled with award-winning wines.
Artisanal products of great value, characterized by the peculiarities of the terroir and by different processes. Wines rich in family stories, traditions, and culture, which each producer preserves and recounts with pride. This is why we feel it is our duty to defend, enhance, and promote them.
Info Irpinia‘s program includes several experiences that bring you closer to the historic makers of this great DOCG wine, allowing you to discover and savor the magic of a product that has enchanted the world for years.
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