IRPINIA (province of Avellino): The winter was mild. It rained in May and in June. In July and in August the weather was beautiful. In September there were rains and there was a wide day/night temperature range.

MONTEMARANO (Province of Avellino)

Giovanni Molettieri son of Salvatore Molettieri owner of Azienda Agricola Molettieri (Taurasi DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Greco di Tufo DOCG):.”..we started the harvest on the 4-5 November and we finished on the 17th of November. The grapes were beautiful and healthy. The weather was good throughout the harvest. The grape yield was average. 2016 is a good vintage. The wines have a good colour, a good aroma, the alcohol strength and the acidity are also good….”

FOGLIANISE – TABURNO AREA (Province of Benevento): It was rainy in the springtime. In July it was warm and it rained at the end of the month. In August it rained after the 16t h , 17t h . In September the weather was good.

Filippo Colandrea agronomist-oenologist of Cantina del Taburno (Aglianico del Taburno DOC, Taburno DOC, Beneventano IGT): “…we picked the grapes for the production of sparkling wines on the 12,13,14 and 15 September. Then we started harvesting Fiano on the 21,22 September and Falanghina on the 26 September. We harvested Aglianico from the 7 till the 15 October. We carried out a careful selection in the Aglianico vineyards. The grape yield was good for the white varieties and slightly lower than average for Aglianico. The white wines are fresh, fragrant, elegant and pleasant to drink. The reds have a good colour, the alcohol strength is slightly lower than in 2015, the acidity is good and they are elegant…… ”

TAURASI (Province of Avellino)

Pino Caggiano son of Antonio Caggiano owner of the homonymous estate (Taurasi DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC, Irpinia Aglianico Campi Taurasini DOC, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Greco di Tufo DOCG): “….we started picking on the 20t h of October and we finished on the 28t h of October. The grape yield this year was lower than average. We are now racking off the wines and the reds have an intense colour, they are concentrated and fragrant. We made the whole range of wines..We are satisfied with the 2016 vintage….”

TUFO (Province of Avellino)

Gabriella Ferrara owner of Azienda Agricola Benito Ferrara (Greco di Tufo DOCG, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC): “….we started picking the Fiano grapes on the 30t h of September, we continued with Greco and we finished with Aglianico on the 17t h of October. The grapes were healthy and beautiful. This year the grape yield was lower than average. 2016 is an excellent and well balanced vintage. The Greco wines have a good aroma, thanks to the good day/night temperature range in September, the alcohol strength is good and well balanced with the acidity. The Aglianico wines are also good with a good alcohol strength and a good acidity. We worked a lot in the vineyards in September, dropping fruit and de-leafing the vines so to air the clusters. The fermentation of the wines is proceeding very well…..”

LAPIO (Province of Avellino)

Clelia Romano owner of Azienda Vitivinicola Colli di Lapio (Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, Taurasi DOCG): “…we picked Fiano from the 5t h of October till the 15t h of October. We picked Aglianico on the 24-25t h of October. The weather in October was good so that the harvest went well. The Fiano wines have a good colour, a good alcohol strength and a good acidity. This year we increased the production by 8,000 bottles. The Aglianico grapes were beautiful. This year we did not make Taurasi, we made Irpinia Campi Taurasini. We are very happy with the 2016 vintage….”

BOSCOTRECASE SUL VESUVIO, TORRE DEL GRECO (Province of Naples)

Azienda Vinicola De Angelis – the headquarters of the estate are in the town of Sorrento – (Lacrima Christi DOC, Rosso, Bianco and Rosato): “…the grape yield this year was slightly lower, we focussed on quality. We started harvesting on the 27t h /28t h of September and we will finish around the 12t h of November (date of the interview: 7t h of November). We had to interrupt the harvest a few times because of the weather. The grapes were healthy and beautiful at harvest. The musts are still fermenting: they are very fragrant, well balanced, very pleasant and with supple tannins. The reds could already be released right now! 2016 is a good vintage….”