BRANCATO FIANO DI AVELLINO DOCG

Italian Wine from Campania

Grapes: 100% Fiano

Production area

Vineyard located in the hilly area of the municipality of Lapio, facing south.

Winemaking

The grapes, harvested by hand when fully ripe, are strictly selected and whole pressed, therefore only the must is first cold decanted and then inoculated for the alcoholic fermentation.

The fermentation takes place for one part in French oak barrels and for the remaining part in low temperature steel.

The wine remains in aging sur-lie always in wood and steel and finally refines at least 6 months in the bottle.

Altitude: 450 m s.l.m.
Type of soil: Clayey and silty marl based

Organoleptic characteristics

Color: crystalline, straw yellow with golden reflections, bright.
Aroma: aromas of ripe and tropical fruit that immediately leave room for a mineral note, flowers of hawthorn and hints of candied fruit, with a touch of toasting.
Taste: elegant, full with a good acidity that balances the perfect equilibrium of the wine, very persistent and spicy finish.

Gastronomic matches

Structured meat dishes of regional cuisine, fatty fish, “risotto ai funghi” mushroom risotto and dishes with a strong aromatic flavor.

Best served at a temperature of 12 ° C / 14 ° C.

The Grapes Fiano

Fiano is a high-quality, white-wine grape variety used widely in southern Italy, particularly in Campania. Used mainly as a varietal wine, Fiano is nutty and textured with floral and honeyed notes, spice and tropical fruit flavors like pineapple. Its main incarnation is as Fiano di Avellino DOCG wine.

The variety has been grown in southern Italy for hundreds of years, and many researchers have suggested that this is one of Pliny the Elder's viti apiane (although this is now widely contested). The first mention of Fiano comes in the 13th Century, and just prior to the phylloxera crisis of the late 19th Century, the grape was widely planted in Campania. Following phylloxera's devastating effects, the grape was almost forgotten until the 1970s and 1980s, when it was rediscovered first by local producers and then by consumers. Now, wines made from Fiano are very much in vogue, and are found on wine lists around the world.

Fiano thrives in the volcanic soils of the Apennine Mountains. Terroir is particularly important to Fiano, and can have a big impact on the finished wines, which range in style from taut and minerally to nutty and rich. Fiano can develop a sweetness that makes it extremely attractive to bees, as referenced by its traditional name, Vitis apiana ("the vine beloved of bees").

Many winemakers use various winemaking techniques to play up Fiano's natural qualities. The most important of these is lees contact, a process where the wine is left to mature with the by-products of fermentation: dead yeast cells, seeds and skin fragments, as well as other particles. This contact can add texture and weight to the finished wines, as well as added flavor.

While Fiano is best known for its dry wines, it is also made into dessert wines, usually through the traditional Italian method of air-drying. Sweet Fiano wines are luscious and textured, developing dried fruit flavors like fig and prune.

Fiano di Avellino Wine

Fiano di Avellino is a DOCG within the Campania region of Italy. It is named after the white Fiano grape, a variety which dates back more than 2000 years. Its name comes from vitis apiana, meaning vine beloved of bees; apparently the grapes were so sweet that bees found them irresistible. This wine was appreciated in the Middle Ages (the story goes that Charles d’Anjou, King of Naples, was so enamored with this variety that he had 16,000 Fiano vines planted in the royal vineyards), and it is still one of the key players in the success of the modern Campania wine industry.

Although Fiano is grown in other parts of Campania, its best performance is obvious in Fiano di Avellino wine. Fiano flourishes in this area, thanks to Avellino’s close proximity to the Apennine Mountains, its mild microclimate, diurnal temperature variations and mineral-rich, volcanic and calcareous soils.

This variety’s incredible sweetness makes it a superb candidate for the semi-sweet sparkling wine that is a favorite among locals (although it hasn’t reached the international, or even national, markets yet). However the still, dry white has carried the DOCG status since 2003, and its immense purity of fruit, elegance and refinement distinguishes it among its peers. The wines are characterized by lush notes of quince, orange blossom, spice and hazelnuts with an excellent underlying minerality and lively acidity. Under DOCG regulations, there must be a minimum of 85% Fiano, with the possible addition of up to 15% from a selection of Greco, Coda di Volpe Bianca and/or Trebbiano Toscano. The wines are usually best drunk between three and five years, although some will last as long as seven to ten years from the finest vineyards in outstanding vintages.