Epomeo

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The highest peak on the island is Monte Epomeo, at 788 metres, situated at the centre of the island; it is a submarine volcano that subsided over the last 130,000 years.
• The entire island corresponds to the summit of Monte Epomeo, the last part of the volcano still above the surface, characterised by green tuffs.
• The island's volcanic activity was marked by eruptions of modest intensity and widely spaced in time, with the most recent occurring in 1301 in the eastern sector as a brief lava flow, the Arso, which reached the sea.
• From a geological standpoint the island is volcanic in character, having formed through a succession of eruptions over a period of approximately 150,000 years.
• The prevailing winds vary by season: in winter they are the libeccio, the ponente-libeccio, and the scirocco; in summer and spring they are the tramontana and the grecale.

• In 1953 the archaeologist Giorgio Buchner discovered, in the necropolis of San Montano at Lacco Ameno, the Nestor's Cup, dating to around 725 BC and inscribed with a phrase extolling the local wine.
• From 1500 onwards, bulk white wine was exported by sea to the mainland and as far as Dalmatia, carried in carrati transported aboard vinacciere, that is, sailing vessels.
• The DOC was recognised on the island in 1966, making it the second DOC established among all Italian DOCs, and the IGT Epomeo followed in the 1990s.
• The grape varieties traditionally cultivated and authorised for the area include, among red varieties, Piedirosso, Aglianico, Guarnaccia, and Sciascinoso, and among white varieties, Biancolella, Forastera, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina, and Greco.

• The island's distinctive conical formation, with Monte Epomeo at its centre, combined with its position in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, encourages a mild climate even in winter, with frequent weather changes and significant diurnal temperature variation — conditions that are favourable to high-quality viticulture.

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

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Regional grape register (PDF) — campania
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-IT-A0258