In this last post of my Spotlight on Southern Italy series I will be looking at both a rare white grape and a very tiny region. The wine region, Molise, is nestled between Abruzzo and Puglia on the east coast of Italy, and it is far enough north to almost be out of what many would consider to be Southern Italy. Molise is a mountainous and heavily wooded region and there are many wines being made in the mountains, although none currently are being imported into the North American market. In fact, most wines made here aren’t sold commercially at all, but made for and drunk by locals. This region is quite poor and so in order for the wines to start improving and being bottled, there will need to be some sort of investment from elsewhere. This producer is an exception to that general rule, and is actually making some pretty good stuff.
The three DOCs in Molise are Pentro d’Isernia, Biferno and Del Molise (which encompasses the entire area). The coastal regions have a very mild climate, with little rainfall in the summer, although this region is cooler than the other, more southerly, regions I have already profiled.
White wines are far less common in Southern Italy than the reds, but Falanghina is one of the more important white varieties. Mostly grown in the Campania region, it produces fragrant and juicy wines and does well in coastal areas. While this grape is blended most of the time with other indigenous grapes, it does come in a 100% form in varietally labeled wines like this one.
Di Majo Norante has its own estate vineyards near the ocean and the town of Campomarino. Even though it is situated in Molise, it makes its wines in a more Campanian style, and so they have Southern Italy at their heart. Di Majo Norante has been bottling wines since 1968 and makes several reds and whites, including some interesting sounding blends.
The nose on this wine was big and promised warm climate flavours with its aromas of ripe apple, tropical mango and guava. The palate was bigger and denser than the nose, with guava, burnt coconut, banana, and honeyed wildflowers. Despite the opulent flavours, the wine finishes very clean, and while this is a lower acid white, it has good structure and a significant and dry finish. The nose and fruit flavours are similar to an Alsatian Gewurztraminer but the opulence and richness of the wine is cut by a line of acidity and a very dry finish. In my mind, this is an extremely well made warm-climate white wine that is also an outstanding value.
Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$23 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars
And so concludes my first theme in the “Spotlight” series. In conclusion, Southern Italy is producing many great values, although it still has a long way to go before it gets full respect. More investment, modernization, but also attention to detail and proper wine making practices will be necessary to catapult the regions of Southern Italy into the purview of the consumer of high quality wine and beyond the house wine at the local Italian trattoria. Sicily has probably come furthest and closest to this goal. Of course, several of the wines in this spotlight have shown the tremendous value that can be had from Souther Italy, and I think that over the next decade we will continue to see quality improve but prices stay reasonable, making the regions of Southern Italy worth watching.
I hope you enjoyed reading this spotlight as much as I did researching and writing it. If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see change or what future topics would be of interest, drop me a line in the comments.
The Campania region of Southern Italy finds its centre in the city of Napoli (Naples), a strange chaotic place if I’ve ever seen one. The wine growing regions here sprinkle themselves around the region, with the most famous being the three DOCGs inland from Naples around the city of Avellino. Campania, like the rest of Southern Italy, has a hot climate comparatively to many European wine regions save a few in Spain and Greece. Campania has also had a long history of producing low-quality wines.
However, this particular aglianico is not grown in Campania, but in the neighboring region of Basilicata. The Vulture DOC (one of only two DOCs within Basilicata) has volcanic soils, similar to Taurasi, but is also quite mountainous and thus produces very tannic aglianico, compared to the fruity versions of southern Campania or the dense and less tannic versions of Taurasi itself. Winemakers in this region have recently increased their use of French oak, which I suppose would help add to the structure of this grape. I would fear, however, that too much oak would make the wine almost unbearably tannic. The particular version I tasted, however, was not over the top.
Sicily has been an important wine region for thousands of years. Much like Apulia, Sicily was a cultural cross-roads throughout most of European history, and has been controlled by the Greeks, the Romans the Byzantines, the Arabs, and the Catalans from Spain. And, amazingly, the land has been under vine throughout the majority of that history. Perhaps this is why Sicily is now Italy’s largest wine producing region.
The first nero d’avola I tried was the Donnafugata Sedara Nero d’Avola IGT 2007, a wine made in a pretty traditional style (even with obvious modern techniques and cleanliness) by one of Sicily’s oldest producers (going on 150 years). The nose is classic for this variety with meat, black pepper, char, and blackberry. The palate is bright and soft up front with blackberry and red plum. The mid-palate is pretty simple and serves up a peppery side of game. The finish is soft and short and the wine has a very soft and sweet tannin structure. This is a pretty simple wine – it’s not going to wow anyone. And there are certainly much better nero d’avolas around for a bit more money. However, this still beats out a lot of $20 wines for drinkability and overall quality and it is made well, with all the components in balance. Grab this for the traditional pairings of a red meat pasta, pizza or side of game and you will probably be very happy. 
d’avola, is fermented in steel tanks and is aged for 12 months in 2-3 year old French oak. The vines for this nero d’avola are pretty low (although not miniscule) yielding, offering 8.5 tons per hectare.
Yesterday I introduced the Spotlight on Southern Italy series with a look at the Apulia region (in the southeast), and specifically at the primitivo grape. Primitivo, however, is a relatively new development when it comes high quality wine in Apulia. The main grape for such wines has always been negroamaro, which technically means bitter black, but I don’t think that name is particularly useful in describing these wines.
This particular wine is a blend of 85% negroamaro and 15% malvasia nera, a variety known for its intense fragrance. Aged for 6 months in old oak, the oak characteristics are barely perceptible in this wine, which allows the fruit to speak for itself. There is a lot of pleasure to be had here, even if the wine is straightforward. On the nose I got dark cherry, earth, flowers, and metal. The nose is a bit shut down when you first pop the cork, so make sure to give this a good decant. The palate continues the dark cherry and adds meat and spice in the mid palate. The finish grabs hold with hints of chocolate, herbs and earth. While some criticize negroamaro for being a bit backward, this particular wine is not ‘rustic’ in a bad way at all. Instead, it’s got old world finesse and understatedness, but great smoothness and is a very clean wine. While I could not find out that much about this producer, they seem to be making modern wines with good density and structure, but also great balance. Add in the spicy earth characteristics, a pizza or pasta, and the very reasonable price tag, and you have a winner.
In order to give my blog some more focus and increase both the educational dimension and the simple fun of blogging I’ve decided to create a weekly focus for the blog, whether it be a region, a grape, or a concept in wine-making. Each post in a given week will focus on a different aspect of the weekly theme, and I hope to prompt discovery of the lesser known, the unnoticed and the misconceived. This week’s focus is on the wines of Southern Italy, a large area with several regions that often get neglected by wine drinkers. And, this is a shame given both the quality and the values to be had in the region. In this week’s posts I will be focusing on wines from Apulia (the heel of Italy’s boot), Campagnia (near Naples), and Sicily, starting with a primitivo from Apulia.
The producer Apollonio – who make this wine – is located on the Salento peninsula of Apulia, which even with the hot climate sees incredibly cold nights, which preserves acidity in the grapes and retards the ripening of the grape to allow for more even development. Production sits around 50 000 cases, so this is not a super small producer, although also by no means a huge one. It’s actually quite amazing the quality Apollonio consistently manages even with this relatively large production. Clearly the wine-maker knows what he is doing.
