Irpinia

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• Mountainous-hilly territory crossed by the Apennine chains of Terminio and Partenio, with limited valley floors.
• Soils with volcanic ash in the Avellino basin; argille-based, alkaline terrain on Eocene and Pliocene deposits in the northern and eastern hill areas.
• Marked diurnal temperature ranges, especially during véraison, promote gradual ripening with a balanced interplay of sugars and acidity.
• The territory is divided into two slopes: Tyrrhenian (the Avellino district) and Adriatic (Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi and Ariano Irpino), separated by the Apennine ridge.

• Slow ripening promotes a sugar/acidity balance that is ideally suited to still wines and to sparkling wines with distinctive sensory characteristics.
• White, rosé, and red wines with pronounced, distinctive character, already well established by the 1970s.

• Marked diurnal temperature ranges promote gradual ripening with a sugar/acidity balance well suited to both still and sparkling wines.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

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