IRPINIA AREA (Province of Avellino)

MONTEMARANO: The winter was not excessively rainy and there was no snow. There was the right amount of rain. In May and in June the weather was good. There were some rains in August and this favoured the maturity of the grapes. In September the weather was good with a lot of sun. There were about ten days of rain in October, but this is normal for the time of the year and it did not create problems for the grapes.

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 picked Fiano at the beginning of October, Greco at the end of October, Aglianico from the 6th till the 15th of November. The grapes were beautiful and healthy. It was a good harvest. We work a lot in the vineyards so that we have very little problems with disease and the quality of our grapes is always good, vintage after vintage. The grape yield this year was slightly lower in comparison to the previous vintages. The Aglianico wines are still fermenting and the fermentation is proceeding well…..”

TAURASI (Province of Avellino): There was hail in the area of Taurasi at the beginning of August, but luckily the damage in the vineyards of Caggiano was very limited and the vines recovered well.

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): “….the harvest was 7/8 days earlier than usual. The white varieties were picked from the end of September till the beginning of October. Aglianico was picked from the 20t h of October till the beginning of November. The grapes were healthy and of an excellent quality. This year there were no problems with disease. The alcoholic fermentation of the wines is now completed and we are racking off (12/11). The wines are well balanced, with a good alcohol strength and a good acidity, the colours are beautiful. 2015 is a good vintage…”

TUFO: The winter was not excessively rainy and there was no snow. There was the right amount of rain. In May and in June the weather was good. There were some rains in August and this favoured the maturity of the grapes. In September the weather was good with a lot of sun. There was no hail in 2015. Gabriella Ferrara owner of Azienda Agricola Benito Ferrara (Greco di Tufo DOCG, Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Aglianico DOC): “…the harvest was 8 days early this year. We started picking Fiano on the 27t h of September, followed by Greco and Aglianico. We finished the harvest on the 20t h of October. The grapes were fantastic! The grape yield was slightly lower. The fermentation of the must proceeded well for the whites and for the reds and they were a bit longer than usual. The wines look good, and the alcohol strength and the acidity are well balanced. The alcohol strength is not excessive. We are satisfied with the 2015 harvest….”

LAPIO: 2015 was a warm and dry vintage. It rained at the beginning of August and at the beginning of September and this favoured the maturity of the grapes. Clelia Romano owner of Azienda Vitivinicola Colli di Lapio (Fiano di Avellino DOCG, Irpinia Campi Taurasini DOC, Taurasi DOCG): “…2015 is a beautiful vintage and the quality of the grapes was excellent. The grape yield was slightly lower this year. It was an early harvest: we picked Fiano on the 21s t of September and Aglianico on the 10t h of October. The vineyards of Aglianico are in Venticano and this is an area where the grapes always ripen early. The alcoholic fermentation of the wines is now completed (12/11). The wines are lovely and well balanced. We are happy with this harvest……”

FOGLIANISE – TABURNO AREA (Province of Benevento): The winter was mild with snow. The quantity of rain during the springtime was just right. The summer was warm for 10-15 days at the end of July, in August there were some light rains. The vines did not suffer from hydric stress.

Unfortunately there was a very bad flood in the area of Benevento on the 15t h of October that caused a lot of damage. Luckily the white varieties were picked before and so were the red varieties for the high end wines (that are part of the portfolio of Marc de Grazia).

Filippo Colandrea agronomist-oenologist of Cantina del Taburno (Aglianico del Taburno DOC, Taburno DOC, Beneventano IGT): “…2015 is an exceptional, beautiful vintage. The red and white wines are very good. The white varieties were picked from the 14t h of September (the grapes for the base wines for sparkling wines) till the 6t h of October. The red varieties for the DOC and DOCG wines were also picked before the flood. The Aglianico grapes of the Bue Apis vineyard were picked at the end of October/beginning of November: luckily there were no damages due to the flood as the soil is sandy and it drains water well. I am extremely happy with this vintage!….”

BOSCOTRECASE SUL VESUVIO, TORRE DEL GRECO (Province of Naples): The winter was mild. The weather during the springtime was intermittently clear and rainy. The summer was warm with good rainfalls. There were no rains before the harvest.

Azienda Vinicola De Angelis – the headquarters of the estate are in the town of Sorrento – (Lacrima Christi DOC, Rosso, Bianco and Rosato): “…2015 is a very good vintage. We started picking on the 28t h of August and we finished on the 4t h /5t h of October as we had to interrupt a few times because of the rain. The grapes were perfect and healthy. The skins were flawless. In 2015 there were no problems with disease. The fermentation of the whites proceeded well and they are nearly completed, while the reds are right in the middle of the alcoholic fermentation (12/11). I am very happy….”

PIMONTE (Sorrento Paeninsula province of Naples): This year the winter was a “real” winter in this area with a good rainfall. In July the temperature got hot. The climate in 2015 favoured an even vegetative cycle of the vines due to a good water supply. The ripening of the grapes was even and good.

Aniello Iovine of Vini Iovine (Penisola Sorrentina DOC, Lacrima Christi del Vesuvio DOC): ”….the vineyards in this area react better in dry and hot vintages than in rainy vintages. This is due to the microclimate as this area (the altitude is 450 meters above sea level) which is between the Mount Faito and the sea. It therefore benefits from the sea breezes (and it is protected by Mount Faito). In fact, even when it is hot during the day, it is always cool at night. This concentrates the aromatic compounds in the berries. In this area there are practically no problems with disease as Penisola Sorrentina is very airy. The vines did not suffer from hydric stress and at harvest the berries had a good sugar/acid balance. The grapes for Gragnano were harvested during the first 10 days of October. This is a happy vintage! The wines are ample, rich, with a lovely freshness and with a good alcohol strength. In 2015 the conditions were ideal…….”