17th February 2022 | Cork Talk | 5 minute read
It’s hard not to fall head over heels in love with the Italian coast. With its abundance of breath-taking views, glistening sunshine that sparkles across the sea, charming architecture and fruit trees blossoming at every turn. The Amalfi Coast has all of this and more – not only a place of stunning beauty and endless sunshine, but also a destination for great food and drink, too.
So, come with us on a whirlwind tour of the Amalfi Coast for wine lovers, where we highlight how you can weave wine tastings and tours into a trip to one of the most picturesque parts of the world. (Warning: after reading this article you may experience an overwhelming desire to book a holiday to Italy to drink wine!)
The wine region that covers the Amalfi Coast is known as Campania, which starts at the coast then stretches further inland. It’s undeniably one of Italy’s most beautiful wine regions, filled with romance and wonder, from its colourful hillside villas and terraces overflowing with flowers, to its picture-perfect wineries and vineyards that overlook the bright blue Tyrrhenian Sea.
Basking in the sunlight, you’ll find that vineyards here are filled with traditional Italian grape varieties, as well as grapes which were originally introduced to the region by the Ancient Greeks, such as the Aglianico red grape (if you’re not familiar with this variety, it’s earthy, floral, fruity and smoky with pronounced tannins and high alcohol from the warm climate – full of flavour and packs quite a punch!).
When it comes to whites, Campania offers a wide variety of intriguing grapes you may have not have had the pleasure of trying before. Fiano, for example, is a white grape that’s been grown here for over 2000 years and is the foundation of many Campanian whites, producing full, richly flavoured wines with nutty aromas. You’ll also discover the delights of Forastera, Fenile and Falanghina here – three absolutely stunning white wines that offer more delicate palates and unique notes of orange blossom that are super rare to find in white wines!
Home to some of the country’s most popular destinations, such as Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii and the glamourous island of Capri, Campania is a wine region that certainly has plenty on offer for holidaymakers who love their history and sight-seeing as much as they love their Italian vino! While exploring these sensational areas, there will be plenty of opportunities to discover the local wines while you soak up the scenery. So, whether you’re living the high life on Capri Island or heading to the Bay of Naples for a history tour of Pompeii, you’ll find that wine tastings and restaurants with interesting wine menus are easy to find.
You don’t, however, have to stick to this one wine region during your trip to Italy (though it may be hard to tear yourself away from!). If you can spare a day or two to travel across to Campania’s neighbouring wine region of Basilicata, you’ll experience a different flavour of Italy – both in terms of wine and landscape.
Under an hour and a half in the car from the Amalfi Coast, Basilicata is a landlocked wine region that offers rugged mountains and rolling hills rather than sea views. It’s one of Italy’s smallest, least-known wine regions, but well worth a visit to sample its fabulous wines and to roam around its ancient towns and cities – particularly the magical Montera, thought to be the third oldest city in the world!
Vineyards in Basilicata sit as high as 600m above sea level, resulting in wonderfully fresh and well-structured wines. The chances are that a bottle of red wine purchased in this region will be Aglianico, with a whopping 90% of wine production here featuring this grape. So, the red wines may not differ much from the reds produced in Campania, but the white wines are totally unique. Greco is the main white grape variety used here, producing crisp and aromatic dry and sparkling styles that go down very nicely on a hot day.
The Italians love good food and drink, and in Sorrento you can do everything from olive oil tasting evenings to Limencello tastings, and, of course, wine tastings. For a relaxing amble, you can find walking tours that allow you to taste your way through the charming streets of Sorrento, or you can do day trips from Sorrento out to the vineyards of Vesuvius (don’t know about you, but the idea of tasting local Italian vino on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius after a wander around Pompeii is pretty cool!).
Wine tastings can also be found on the island of Capri, in the city of Naples, and all along the dreamy Amalfi Coast, including perhaps the prettiest place of them all – picturesque Positano.
Private wine tours are popular in Positano, making it a more intimate experience than group tours you often find elsewhere. You can even book private cooking and dining evenings at a local’s home if you’re after a truly authentic Italian experience! Of course, there are many group tours to wineries from here too, where you can easily combine sightseeing with sipping on wine and grazing on tapas.
Basilicata is home to the stunning ancient city of Matera, which is not only worth seeing for its UNESCO World Heritage Site status but for being one of the glamourous film locations in the latest James Bond film (where we see Bond whizzing around ancient Roman streets in his iconic Aston Martin in ‘No Time To Die’).
Wine tours and wine tastings are aplenty in Matera, as well as throughout the surrounding Basilicatan countryside. As expected, you can find red wine tours here that showcase the very best Aglianico wines of the region, as well as opportunities to explore the quaint local vineyards on the outskirts of the city.
