IRPINIA AREA (Province of Avellino)

TAURASI (Irpinia – Province of Avellino): 2013 was very rainy. It rained in May, June and in July. There were some rains also in August.

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 the red varieties on the 20th of October and we started picking the white varietals on the 10th of October. The weather was good for 20 days before the end of the harvest. The quality of the grapes was good in general, it was better in the higher and more ventilated zones. The vinification and the fermentation were good, the alcohol strength is slightly lower in comparison to 2012 (which was a warm vintage), the acidity is good and the wines are well balanced. We made the whole range of wines…”

TUFO (Irpinia – Province of Avellino): The rains started in January, there was rain in the springtime. The summer was cool. There were some rains in October so that the harvest had to be interrupted twice.

Gabriella Ferrara owner of Azienda Agricola Benito Ferrara (Greco di Tufo DOCG, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC):”..we started picking on the 10th of October and we finished on the 30th of October. It was a long harvest as we had to stop twice because of the rain. The grapes were beautiful. The grape yield was good. The Greco wines are excellent, the alcohol strength is slightly lower, the acidity is good, the aromatics are excellent. The colour of the wines is good although it is slightly lighter (this year there was a lot of canopy which covered the clusters). There were no problems during the alcoholic fermentation. The budding phase, and consequently all the vegetative phases, of the vines (Aglianico and Greco) started 10-15 days later than in the previous vintages so that the harvest started later as well. We carefully selected the Aglianico clusters during the harvest, the wines have a good colour and a good alcohol strength…”

LAPIO (Irpinia – Province of Avellino): It was rainy during the springtime. It was cold till May. The summer was cool. The weather in September and at the beginning of October was good.

Clelia Romano owner of Azienda Vitivinicola Colli di Lapio (Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, Taurasi DOCG): “…..we started picking Fiano grapes on the 10th of October and we finished on the 20th of October. We started later (we usually harvest Fiano at the beginning of October) also because of the rain. The weather was good during the harvest. The grapes were beautiful. The grape yield was a bit higher this year. We had to work a lot in the vineyards, we had to deleaf often as there was a lot of canopy. The vines are still green now in November. The wines have good aromatics and a good acidity. It was a good harvest….”

FOGLIANISE – TABURNO AREA (Province of Benevento): The winter was cold with alternate snowfalls and rain. The springtime was rainy. There were rains also during the summer, but there was a very good night/day temperature range.

Filippo Colandrea agronomist-oenologist of Cantina del Taburno (Aglianico del Taburno DOC, Taburno DOC, Beneventano IGT): “…..2013 is a good vintage for white wines. We had to carefully select the red varieties at harvest. This year we made Fidelis and Delius. We still have to wait and see whether we will bottle Bue Apis. This year good vineyard management was particularly important. We started picking the whites for sparkling wines on the 23rd of September and we finished with Aglianico on the 24th of October. The alcohol strength of both white and red wines is slightly lower than the previous vintages. The whites have good aromatics and they are fresh. The colour of the reds is slightly less intense, but they are pleasant and drinkable……”

BOSCOTRECASE SUL VESUVIO, TORRE DEL GRECO (Province of Naples): The springtime was rainy, the weather during the summer was good. It rained at the beginning of October before the harvest of the Aglianico grapes.

Aniello de Angelis owner of Azienda Vinicola De Angelis – the headquarters of the estate are in the town of Sorrento – (Lacrima Christi DOC, Rosso, Bianco and Rosato): “………..we picked the white varieties at the end of September before the rains started. The wines are still slightly fermenting as the fermentation is carried out at a low temperature. The quality is good. We harvested the red varieties from the 10th till the 20th of October. There were rains before the harvest, but as the soil of the vineyards is sandy, there is a good drainage. The wines are at the end of the alcoholic fermentation. The wines are slightly less full- bodied, but the aromatics are good. We will be able to have a better idea after we rack off the vats…..”

IRPINIA AREA (Province of Avellino): It was very rainy in the winter, springtime and till the beginning of August. Then the weather improved. It was good in September and during the harvest MONTEMARANO (Irpinia – 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): “……the valley of the Calore river (where the vineyards stand) has a particular microclimate, as it is high, airy and there is not much humidity. The soils of the vineyards have a good drainage. We did not work the soil of the vineyards this year and we did not deleaf the vines. The harvest was much better than we had expected. The good weather in September rebalanced the vines. At harvest the clusters were flawless and perfectly ripe. The grape yield was average (7-7.5 tons/hectare). The Aglianico varietal grows and ripens well when the weather is cold. We picked from the 9th of November till the 21st of November. The wine in the vats has a beautiful ruby red colour, the acidity is slightly higher than in the previous vintages, the structure and the alcohol strength are good. 2013 is a good vintage…”

PIMONTE (Sorrento Paeninsula province of Naples): The winter was quite mild with little rain. The rain at the end of the summer was beneficial for the vines.

Aniello Iovine of Vini Iovine (Penisola Sorrentina DOC, Lacrima Christi del Vesuvio DOC)”..we picked from the 15th of September till the 20th of October in the Sorrento Paeninsula area. During the harvest the temperature was lower and this was positive. The alcohol strength of Gragnano is the same as in 2012. The wines are beautifully fresh with good aromatics. The conditions in the Sorrento Paeninsula are particularly good as the soil, being loose and volcanic, drains water very well……”