If you are looking for fine Italian wine and food, consider the Campania region of southern Italy. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour.

Campania is the shin of the Italian boot. It is located in the southwestern Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its total population is about 5.8 million, making it the second most heavily populated region of Italy.

Campania's best-known city is its administrative center, Naples, once glorified by the phrase "See Naples and Die," which referred to its beauty and not its high crime rate. Other well-known cities include Sorrento, a playground of the jet set, and Pompeii, destroyed by Mount Vesuvius about two thousand years ago.

Campania devotes about 100,000 acres to grapevines; it ranks 9th among the 20 Italian regions. Its total annual wine production is about 52 million gallons, also giving it a 9th place. About 64% of the wine production is red or ros? (a bit of ros?), leaving 36% for white. The region produces 17 DOC wines and one DOCG wine, Taurasi, one of the two DOCG wines produced in southern Italy. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, which may be translated as Denomination of Controlled Origin, presumably a high-quality wine. The G in DOCG stands for Garantita, but there is in fact no guarantee that such wines are truly superior. Only 2.8% of Campania wine carries the DOC designation. Campania is home to almost three dozen major and secondary grape varieties, with a few more white varieties than red ones.

Campania is not a major producer of international white grape varieties. Common Italian white varieties include Falanghina, Fiano, Greco, and Coda di Volpe.

Campania is not a major producer of international red grape varieties.The best known Italian red variety is Aglianico, best expressed in the DOCG wine, Taurasi, and Piedirosso.

Before we reviewing the Campania wine and cheese that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.
Start with Scialatielli alle Vongole, Herbed Pasta with Clams, Garlic, and Cherry Tomatoes.
Then try Branzino all 'Acqua Pazz', Sea Bass in 'Crazy Water'.
And for dessert, indulge yourself with Coviglie al Caff?, Coffeee Custard and Ladyfingers.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY While we have communicated with well over a thousand Italian wine producers and merchants to help prepare these articles, our policy is clear. All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Mastoberardino Radici 'Fiano di Avellino' DOCG 12.0 % alcohol about $20

When you see a green band on an Italian white wine bottle, you have a DOCG wine, Italy's top of the line classification.

Mastoberardino is the largest and best known producer in southern Italy. Fiano di Avellino is an indigenous white grape variety. They came together in an excellent wine.

The wine had a beautiful straw color. I found it to be delicate yet complex and elegant, not the least bit thin. At the first pairing it held up to spicy barbequed chicken and barbequed eggplant slices. Among the many flavors, it was spicy and smoky.

The next pairing was with whole wheat pasta and chicken meat balls in a peppery tomato sauce. Here the wine took on a floral character.

I would have loved to taste this wine with the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (Water-Buffalo Mozzarella cheese) described in my article "I Love Italian Wine and Cheese - The Latium Region" but it is not sold in my city. I had to settle for Pecorino Sardo, a nutty cheese made in Sardinia, an island almost directly west of Campagnia. In the presence of the cheese the wine became almost unctuous.

I really feel that this wine deserved its top of the line designation. The best white wines often come from cold climates such as Germany and northern France. Who would have thought that such a fine white wine could come from sun-baked southern Italy? The neighboring woods and eighteen hundred foot elevation of Avellino are certainly an essential part of the final product, well worth the $20, which is more than I usually spend on a wine bottle.

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com . You can reach him at ital@mail.theworldwidewine.com.

A Short Cheap Wine Summary

I Love Italian Wine and Food - The Campania Region


If you are looking for fine Italian wine and food, consider the Campania region of southern Italy. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Featured Cheap Wine Items

Brunello di Montalcino


Brunello di Montalcino "Il Pogione" is the result of a careful selection of Sangiovese grapes grown in the wineries best vineyards, which are over twenty years old. After 3 years of aging in French Allier oak barrels, it continues to mature and develop for about 12 months in the bottle. It is a ruby red Italian wine with garnet hues and a very intense, lingering and stylish bouquet with small dark berry fruit notes. The palate is dry, warm, quite smooth and tannic with the after aroma being long lasting. Very limited and rare, this is one of our "Series of Great Wines from Italy." Online delivery. IRBMS798 IRBMS798


Price: 105.95 USD



Current Cheap Wine News

Wine Site : Dutty Wine

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:48:08 PST
The song that started “everything”, “Dutty Wine” by Tony Matterhorn gave rise to a whole dancing craze among women all over the world. Considered both very sensuous and soliciting from a physical point of view, dutty wine is danced by women who move their neck and posterior simultaneously while the legs follow some kind of butterfly movemen

Long Haul (winnipegsun.com)

Thu, 15 May 2008 01:50:11 PDT
Nothing against Easter or Louis Riel Day, but we're probably all in agreement that the May long weekend is the first one that really counts, right? And to help you make the most of yours, we've culled the best of the local club options.

No results

Technorati search for Dutty Wine has no results

Dutty Wine kills teen

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 06:06:23 PST
Popular Jamaican dance kills teenager.

Jamaican Youth dies after doing the "Dutty Wine"

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 16:51:44 PST
If you wondering what the Dutty Wine is... check it out here,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLbiMj9PpF0

Cherie, on va zouker ce soir ?

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:37:41 PST
Voici une présentation de quelques sites, que vous ne pouvez pas manquer si vous voulez enflammer les dance floors tropicaux, montrer votre maîtrise de la dutty wine, salir le carreau de la personne, faire tourner les demoiselles enivrées au punch coco (ou à la despé, mais bon le punch coco ça a quand même plus de classe …),… Bref voici une sélect

A good laugh - Woman falls off stage

Sun, 20 May 2007 07:15:45 PDT
Want a good laugh, check out this woman doing the Dutti wine. She has heart.


Tasting Notes
Tasting Notes
Wine Making | Wine Manners

Labels: Wine Label

&type=page">