Fun To Say, Fun To Drink: Falanghina

It has been a while since we touched on a new grape variety! Hell, my own posting scheduling has been irregular as I enjoy as much of the summer as I can before it leaves us for another year. Despite my slacking, I do have another installment of Fun To Say, Fun To Drink to share with you, and today's topic touches on another grape that carries some personal significance.

With fewer gray hairs and wrinkles, here I am pouring some killer Italian Pinot Noir at a Vias Imports tasting, ca. 2010.

Waaaay back in the day when I was looking to break into the alcohol industry, I saw an opportunity to help out at a trade show for an Italian wine importer called Vias Imports. As I was in the throes of studying wine, I thought, "could there be a better way to learn about Italian wines than to jump in and pour wines at a table?" The answer was an easy "yes" for me, so I went to New York City's Marriott Marquis. After a five-hour blitz of buyers, retailers, restauranteurs, and other "who's who" types of the beverage industry, I not only survived busted corks (yes, this happened on the first pull of a new wine), and hundreds of glasses shoved in front of me, I had successfully learned a good dozen of native Italian grape varieties.

As a thank you from Vias, they sent me on me way with some money and six bottles of wine! Hey, not a bad gig! Two of the bottles from their portfolio came from a producer Terredora di Paolo, which included a bottle of Aglianico and a bottle of white wine called Falanghina [fah-lahn-GHEE-nah].

Falanghina was not one of the varieties I had worked with that day, but I was excited to taste it. Southern Italy is generally hot during peak growing season, so I understood how red wine grapes would thrive in the Campania region. But white grapes? Would the climate be too harsh? Would the acidity and freshness just get baked out of the grapes in the vineyards? Remember...this was a period of time when I knew next to nothing about the wine grapes of the world.

As it turns out, I learned that Falanghina traces its ancestry to Greece (hence why this grape is sometimes called "Falanghina Greco"), where it is plenty hot out in the vineyards and evolved to retain acidity in the warmth. When Falanghina was brought to Southern Italy roughly 1,600 years ago, it was brought to Campania, where it was very successful alongside other white varieties such as Greco (different from Falanghina Greco) and Fiano. Later, it was discovered that Falanghina thrived in the cool microclimates within the hills of Campania. Here is where Falanghina showed its greatest potential, giving fragrant, pine-scented wines with citrus and pineapple fruit flavors...all balanced by a backbone of zesty acidity.

I fell in love with this grape right away. I couldn't stop recommending this to anyone who would listen to me. Falanghina is one of those wines that is impossible to stop smelling when you aren't drinking it. It's great with seafood, perhaps even linguini with clams or crab meat, or just a warm summer night.

Today, I thank Vias Imports for introducing me to Falanghina by sharing a flight of three Falanghina wines with you below, all of which your retailer should have access to. Don't see it on the shelf? Ask them to order it for you! These are all worth seeking out.

Terredora di Paolo Campania Falanghina ($16): My benchmark wine for getting to know this grape. Those pineapple notes I mentioned above really come through in this with lemon zest and rosemary on the nose. My personal favorite example, but...

Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina del Sannio ($17): This is damn good in its own right, showcasing the sub-region of Sannio within Campania. This has more of an apricot and white peach flavor with white flowers on the nose. This wine also ages on the lees of 5 months, giving the wine a creaminess that plays nicely with the acidity.

Mastroberardino Falanghina del Sannio ($18): Well-known for its long-lived red wines made from Aglianico in the Taurasi region, this producer's Falanghina shows bold citrusy flavor and a blend of soft green herbs, with a stony/earthy character. A tasty way to welcome party guests!

Fun To Say, Fun To Drink: Aglianico

These past few days here in the northeast have felt very autumn-like; long pants and/or fleeces in mid-to-late July aren't out of the question for a day, but for several days? That's a little excessive and it's keeping the beaches quiet here in New England. All of those zesty, light and fresh white and rosé wines I have been sharing with you suddenly don't seem too appealing.

So today's installment of Fun To Say, Fun To Drink takes us to Southern Italy, which has felt the influence of Greece since the 8th Century, B.C. Present-day Southern Italy was referred to as "Oenotria" by the early Greeks, whose meaning refers to the sea of vineyards they encountered when arriving here. As a result, there is a rich history of native Italian vines, along with those Greek in origin and the one we focus on today is called Aglianico [ahl-YAH-nee-ko].

RIP, Denis Dubourdieu. The wine world lost a dude who made a major impact in Bordeaux's winemaking, and who had a global understanding of viticulture and winemaking, including his reverence for Aglianico.

The late Denis Dubourdieu, legendary wine producer and Professor of Oenology at the University of Bordeaux, referred to Aglianico as "probably having the longest consumer history of all (grape varieties)." During the height of the Roman Empire, references to the red Aglianico were made in the works of Pliny the Elder, where the grape was part of the ancient wine called Falernian, which may have included the white grape Greco. Aglianico was consumed by military commanders, scholars, and nobles, whose vines thrived in the volcanic soils of the Campania and Basilicata regions. What was it about Aglianico that was so appealing, even a couple of millenia ago?

From a more modern standpoint, let's take a look at what Aglianico is. It is a grape rich in structural components; high in acid, tannin, and deep, dark fruit concentration. Aglianico also shows a smoky/savory quality that adds an extra distinct layer of complexity. As great as the Nebbiolo-based wines of Barolo and Barbaresco or the Sangiovese-based wines of Tuscany are, they can't give you the flavor and aroma combination you get from Aglianico (of course, you aren't getting the immense structure of Nebbiolo or the leathery/earthiness of aged Sangiovese, but that's another story for another day).

Additionally, if Nebbiolo is the great grape of the north in Barolo and Barbaresco, and Sangiovese rules the center of Italy with Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, and other Tuscan regions, Aglianico is king of the south, most notably in Taurasi in Campania. These regions all contribute to their signature grape variety's ability to age for decades in the bottle. Of course, if you aren't looking to spend tons of money or wait several years for the wine to hit its optimal drinking point, Basilicata's only DOCG-level wine, Aglianico del Vulture, represents a better entry point for the grape. Vineyards are situated right up against an extinct volcano at Mt. Vulture in what is quite the dramatic landscape. Many examples of Aglianico del Vulture can be found for less than $20.

Despite southern Italy having many economically improverished parts of the country, places like Basilicata are capable of producing wines fit for kings and queens. Image credit: Wine Spectator

While the overwhelming majority of Aglianico comes from these southern Italian regions, you can also find some examples in Australia and the American Southwest, notably Texas and Arizona. The common link among these winemaking regions? Hot, sunny, dry weather during the growing season. Without the sun and heat to ripen Aglianico, it would taste aggressively harsh and bitter with green leafy flavors instead of the ripe black plum and black cherry flavors that it should have.

The good news here is that there are some high-quality examples out there for you to try. I have never sampled any of the Aglianico wines outside of Italy, so I haven't included any below. However, if you do see some in your travels, give them a try. In the meantime I have these three that are worth seeking out.

Terredora di Paolo Aglianico Campania ($17): Here is a great way to get introduced to the Aglianico grape. This winery has always produced steady examples of native grape varieties throughout the south, and this wine is no different. Very approachable with gentle tannins and some red raspberry flavors and violets on the nose.

Tenuta del Portale Aglianico del Vulture Riserva ($20): Very ripe black cherry fruit with anise, nutmeg, black pepper, and earthy notes. This wine spent two years in barrel, as noted by the "Riserva" on the label. This is released ready to drink on purchase and needs no further cellaring, but if you wish to do so, you can for a good 5-7 years.

Donnachiara Taurasi ($30): Packed with blackberry fruit, mushrooms, earth, and smoke, this intense and structured Taurasi is a great deal at this price. Chewy and full-bodied, if you have the patience to let this evolve in the bottle for a decade, you will be rewarded. If you don't have that kind of time, this is very enjoyable now...just give it an hour or more to breathe and open up.