IRPINIA AREA (Province of Avellino) inter was mild, springtime was warm and there were rains till June, summer was hot and there were rains in September which was ideal for the grapes (harvest in this area is later than in other areas of Italy). Reports on harvest and on the wines are positive. TUFO (Province of Avellino) Gabriella Ferrara owner of Azienda Agricola Benito Ferrara (Greco di Tufo DOCG, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC): “Harvest was early. The quality of the grapes was excellent so is the forecast for the wines. The W alcoholic fermentation is proceeding without problems….It is surely an excellent vintage….”

LAPIO (Province of Avellino) Clelia Romano owner of Azienda Vitivinicola Colli di Lapio (Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, Taurasi DOCG):”It is a lovely vintage, even though there was drought during the summer, the vines did not suffer from hydric stress as the soil here is loose and humid. The wines have incredible aromas. Grape yield was average as in 2006…The harvest started at the beginning of October and it was not early…”

S. PIETRO IRPINO (Province of Avellino) Angelo Valentino co-owner of Azienda Agricola Macchialupa (Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Greco di Tufo DOCG, Taurasi DOCG): “This is an ideal vintage for Greco, which is extraordinary. Greco has a good concentration and good aromas. Aglianico has an intense colour and is very concentrated. The vineyards have not suffered from hydric stress although the summer was hot. We harvested without problems, we only had a light rain, that did not create problems. We started picking Greco on the 4t h of October, Fiano on the 7-8t h of October, and we finished Aglianico on the 13t h of October…”

BOSCOTRECASE SUL VESUVIO, TORRE DEL GRECO (Province of Naples) In this area winter was mild with quite high temperatures, the summer was dry but not too hot, the vineyards belonging to Azienda Agricola De Angelis are at an altitude of 400-500 meters above sea level, they consequently did not suffer from hydric stress. Ripening of the clusters was 8-10 days early. Angelo Valentino oenologist of Azienda Vinicola De Angelis – the headquarters of the estate are in the town of Sorrento – (Lacrima Christi DOC, Rosso, Bianco and Rosato): “Harvest proceeded extremely well. The whites are very concentrated and have good aromas, the reds have very intense colour and are fruity. The wines are now at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation….We started harvesting on the 25t h of September and we will finish during the fourth week of October.”

FOGLIANISE – TABURNO AREA (Province of Benevento) Winter was mild, there was little rain, it rained in April, the vegetative cycle of the vines was early, during the flowering phase a part of the flowers did not develop (consequently the grape yield was lower), the summer was hot and dry, but the vines did not suffer due to the altitude. Filippo Colandrea agronomist-oenologist of Cantina del Taburno (Aglianico del Taburno DOC, Taburno DOC): “The harvest was 15 days early. The grape yield of Aglianico was lower than usual, the wines have deep colour, good alcohol percentage and have a lot of structure. They will be great wines….This is a very special vintage. The Falanghina, Greco and Coda di Volpe wines have good structure and concentration, the grape yield was lower also for these varietals….. We started picking Falanghina on the 10t h of September, Greco on the 17t h of September, Coda di Volpe on the 17-18t h of September, Aglianico on the 1st of October (we finished on the 18t h of October)..”