2017 Benito Ferrara Greco di Tufo Vigna Cicogna

Azienda Agricola Benito Ferrara is a 20-acre estate in San Paolo di Tufo. The Ferrara family has owned the land since the mid-19th century though vineyards weren’t planted untill the early 20th century. Today three generations of the Ferrara family still operate the estate and they produce wines under several appellations, including Greco di Tufo, which is the smallest of Campania’s four DOCGs. Greco is an ancient grape variety that came to southern Italy from Greece and it thrives in the volcanic soils of southern Italy. Besides the white Greco di Tufo wines, Benito Ferrara also makes red wines from the indigenous grape Aglianico.

Campania is on the southeastern coast of Italy, and the city of Naples is its commercial and cultural capital. Wine has always been produced in this hard-scrabble region, though the quality of those wines has traditionally not matched the wine quality elsewhere in Italy. Rich volcanic soils mean that the region easily grows everything from citrus and artichokes to nuts, and growing wine grapes has not been a priority historically. However in the last couple of decades forward-thinking producers and vineyard owners have focused on improving both their wines and Campania’s winemaking reputation, and the results are noteworthy. Campania was awarded its first DOCG appellation in 1991. It is the Taurasi DOCG, which grows primarily Aglianico, a native grape that can produce big, concentrated, complex red wines with layers of earthy flavors. There are 101,000 acres of vineyards in Campania, making it Italy’s ninth largest wine producing region, though only 2.8% of those vineyards are in DOC appellations. Nevertheless several excellent large producers and numerous boutique producers are now crafting well-reviewed red and white wines, all mostly from indigenous grapes. Besides Aglianico, the other most frequently planted red wine grapes are Coda de Volpe and Pedirosso. White grapes planted are Falanghina, Fiano and Greco. There are 18 DOCs in Campania.