Irpinia

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Irpinia territory is crossed by the Apennine ranges of Terminio and Partenio and presents a mountainous-hilly configuration, with flat areas limited to a few plateaus and narrow valley floors.
• Soils range from loose soils with volcanic ash in the central basin area of Avellino to soils developed on Eocene and Pliocene deposits, low in skeleton and rich in clay, with a mostly alkaline reaction in the hilly areas of the northern and eastern slopes.
• The Apennine ridge divides the territory into two slopes: the Tyrrhenian side, which encompasses the district of Avellino, and the Adriatic side, which encompasses the districts of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi and Ariano Irpino.
• Numerous rivers and streams, including the Calore Irpino, the Ofanto, and the Sele, wind through the valleys and heights that characterize the Irpinia territory.
• The Irpinia climate is moderate without thermal extremes, cold in winter with snowfall but relatively mild in summer, with annual rainfall ranging from 800 to 1,200 mm depending on the area.
• The thermal, hydrometric, and anemometric conditions of the growing area are favorable to a gradual and balanced ripening of sugars and acidity, aided by the diurnal temperature variation during the véraison and ripening period.

• In 1878 the Regia Scuola di Viticoltura ed Enologia di Avellino was established, fostering the development of the Irpinia wine-growing sector and wine exports to France.
• The discovery of sulfur deposits in the commune of Tufo in the nineteenth century gave rise to the technique of sulfuring (zolfatura), used to protect grape clusters from external pathogens.
• A distinction is drawn between the training system known as the 'Alberata Taurasina or Antico sistema taurasino,' dating back to the Etruscan school and applied to Aglianico and other red varieties, and the 'sistema avellinese,' widespread for Greco, Fiano, and Coda di Volpe.
• The first railway line in Irpinia was built, later called the 'ferrovia del vino' (wine railway), linking the wine-producing centers of the Colline del Sabato and the Calore valley, with stations still in existence at Tufo, Prata, Taurasi, and Montemiletto.

• In the post-Second World War period, Irpinia developed white, rosé, and white wines vinified from red grapes with firm and distinctive character, establishing itself as early as the 1970s as a region appreciated for austere white wines.

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

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0279
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Irpinia