Fiano di Avellino DOCG

Before I get into the translation, I just want to mention that I don't like Italian tasting notes. I feel a blog post coming on, but I'll save that for later so that you don't accuse me of editorializing when I said that I wouldn't. Because the descriptors in the text do not convey the complexity of a good Fiano di Avellino, I have to add that I always found an intriguing herbaceous note in the wine reminding me of the pine forests that surround the area. In addition to citrus, there is typically a pronounced minerality. They can also be slightly nutty at times, but only the special ones. Just like us.

Text below translated from: del Canuto, Francesco et al., Il vino italiano, panorama vitivinicolo attraverso le denominazioni di origine, Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (Bertani & C.), Milano, 2010 (2002), fourth edition.

Recognized as a DOCG 8/5/03

Photo from newsposi.it

Production Zone: including the townships of Aiello del Sabato, Atripalda, Avellino, Candida, Capriglia Irpina, Cesinali, Contrada, Forino, Grottolella, Lapio, Manocalzati, Montefredane, Mercogliano, Montefalcione, Monforte Irpino, Ospedaletto d'Alpinolo, Parolise, Pratola Serra, Salza Irpina, San Michele di Serino, San Potito Ultra, Santa Lucia di Serino, Sant'Angelo a Scala, Santo Stefano del Sole, Sorbo Serpico and Summonte, all in the province of Avellino.

Yield: max 10 tons per hectare

Grape Varieties: fiano; also permitted up to 15%: greco bianco, coda di volpe, and/or trebbiano toscano

Minimum alcohol: 11.5%

Aging Potential: 1-4 years

Mention of APIANUM is permitted on the label as a reference to the origins of the grape name.**

Fiano di Avellino, taken from the eponymous grape variety, is one of the most distinguished wines of Campania. With time, the wine acquires depth and softness. Fiano is pale in color with an intense nose of fruit. Its balanced notes of citrus and acidity pair well with dishes such as spaghetti with fresh anchovies, grilled fish, seafood stew, baked fish, pizza, and calzones.

Some producers are late-harvesting as well as creating passitos, some are even using grapes affected with botrytis. These are still rare, but very interesting.

Sparkling wines made from Fiano using the Martinotti (Charmat) method are pleasant and zippy, and are perfect as an aperitif.

**It is commonly believed that the original name for Fiano was Apianum, derived from Vitis Apiana, which was a reference to the high sugar level of the grapes and the bees' attraction to them. (Ape, pronounced "AH-pay" is the Italian word for bee, derived from the Latin "Apis.") Vitigni d'Italia disputes this, claiming that the actual origin of the word is from Appiano which was a variety of apple grown in Apia (now Lapia) near Avellino. B'oh!