Basilicata

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The territory of Basilicata encompasses three major morphological and geological units: the Apennines, the Fossa Bradanica, and the Apulian Foreland.
• The region is predominantly mountainous and hilly, with only 10% of its territory occupied by plains, while approximately 34% lies above 700 metres in altitude.
• In the Vulture area and the surrounding uplands to the north, soils of volcanic origin are found, predominantly pyroclastic, with physico-chemical properties that confer a high level of fertility.
• In the Apennine area and the Fossa Bradanica, geological formations with a clayey lithology are present, characterised by fine-textured soils and dark surface horizons enriched in organic matter.
• The regional climate is partly temperate-cold and partly Mediterranean, with marked diurnal temperature variation, hot summers, harsh winters, and rainfall concentrated approximately 60% in autumn and winter.
• Mean annual rainfall varies considerably with altitude, from 529 mm in the coastal Metaponto littoral area to 2,000 mm in the Apennine area around Lagonegro.
• Vineyards are cultivated at altitudes ranging from 200 to 800 metres above sea level, with varying slopes and a general aspect oriented toward the east and south-east.

• Viticulture in Basilicata has very ancient origins linked to the Oenotrians and the Lucanians, peoples who inhabited southern Italy from as early as 1200–1300 BC.
• The earliest detailed accounts of wine production organised according to a scientific criterion date back to the Statistical Survey of the Kingdom of Naples commissioned by Joachim Murat in 1811.
• In 1887, the first oenological exhibition was held in Potenza, at which wines produced from 30 different varieties cultivated in the region were presented.
• The grape varieties most widely used for the production of traditional sparkling wines are Aglianico del Vulture among the red-berried varieties and Moscato among the white-berried varieties.

• The production regulations describe the red wines as still yet structured, with well-balanced physico-chemical characteristics across all the styles defined.
• On the nose and palate, the red wines display predominantly varietal aromas typical of the grape varieties used.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A0531