It is obviously Greco di Tufothat made our reputation.
But our love for Irpinia—our land—and for wine couldn’t stop there.
Throughout Italy, it’s said that “wine makes blood,” but, to be honest, we believe the time has come to change this old saying, at least in our case.
In the province of Avellino, “vi” doesn’t make blood, “wine IS blood.” It’s part of us and the history of our people, just as we are part of it. Inside every bottle bottled here, it’s as if the efforts and labors of an entire people flowed together.
Perhaps this is why all Irpini are so intimately, so viscerally connected to wine. There’s a sort of biological connection that binds us to it. Don’t believe it? Try it if you like, but we’re willing to bet you’ll never find anyone in Avellino and its province who isn’t proud of the wines produced in our region, even in contexts far removed from the world of winemaking and viticulture.
Irpinia is an amazing land, that seems to have been purposely invented for prestige wine making. Suffice to say that in this relatively small area we can boast 3 DOCG wines.
It is something unique on a national level, especially if you consider that Irpinia detains a large majority of the DOCG’s of Campania. What is it that makes the wines from this province so extraordinary?
The landscape, first of all, the composition of the soils, vineyards the exposure and climatic conditions of the single vineyards can vary significantly even at a very close distance of a few hundred yards. This is the first secret that gives each wine a strong, well-defined identity very recognizable to the palate.
Then there is the expertise, the vine grower’s know-how. In our province we started planting vines a few thousand years ago. Since then, centuries of experiments, trials and errors, year after year, have taught us how to get the best out of vines planted in fertile yet difficult parcels difficult to work on.
Mother nature has certainly been generous with us, but we owe it to our ancestors if we have learned how to profit from it. Irpinia viticulture is a story of great perseverance and technique that deserves to be told.
We, at Cantine di Marzo tried to do our part, producing with the same dedication and passion that has made the reputation of this land in the world.
Taurasi is the king of Campania reds. This magnificent red wine, DOC since 1970, received the DOCG classification in 1992, the first in southern Italy, when the National Committee for the Preservation of Designations of Origin recognized its prerequisite of “special value”
It is a red wine which gives its best when aged, which is why the regulation for the production of this DOCG requires an ageing of at least 3 years, of which at least twelve months in wooden casks, but it can rest for a few decades in the bottle without serious damage and actually improving.
Sometimes, it is because of this ageing potential that it is often compared to the great reds of Tuscany and Veneto. We believe this is a mistake. If you tasted it at least once, you would probably agree with us. Taurasi is unique.
This elegant red wine is a true patrimony for Irpinia and the whole of Campania. It knows how to get noticed and be remembered. Once tasted, it is never forgotten.
Aglianico is the most widespread variety in southern Italy and, as such is abundant in Irpinia where it has been grown for milleniums. It is a high value variety the origins of which seem to date back to the 6th c. b.c.e. It’s Irpinia version has obtained the DOC
It is obtained from the same grapes as Taurasi, but in contrast to its older brother, it does not undergo such a strict ageing process.
It is a wine that is persistent, well affirmed, in some cases wild, but at the same time very generous with those who go beyond the first impression. If we were to choose among the foods and wines that best represent its producers, Aglianico would undoubtedly be it.
Aglianico very accurately reflects the personality of the people of the province of Avellino.
Since 2003, Fiano di Avellino is, together with Greco di Tufo, the second white wine DOCG of the province of Avellino. It seems that it is thanks to the Greeks that the Fiano variety got to Irpinia, maybe from the Peloponnese. On the hills around Avellino, through the hard work of talented growers, this variety reached a peak that made it a milestone of Italian winemaking.
It’s not surprising that this variety which reaches its highest potential in the province of Avellino has started to be grown in the Sannio area, in Cilento and other areas in Italy as well as in the new world, like in Australia.
To taste it is a must, but one must be aware because you might put aside for good Chardonnay, Riesling and many other white wines.
Since 2003, Fiano di Avellino is, together with Greco di Tufo, the second white wine DOCG of the province of Avellino. It seems that it is thanks to the Greeks that the Fiano variety got to Irpinia, maybe from the Peloponnese. On the hills around Avellino, through the hard work of talented growers, this variety reached a peak that made it a milestone of Italian winemaking.
It’s not surprising that this variety which reaches its highest potential in the province of Avellino has started to be grown in the Sannio area, in Cilento and other areas in Italy as well as in the new world, like in Australia.
To taste it is a must, but one must be aware because you might put aside for good Chardonnay, Riesling and many other white wines.
Four extraordinary wines, of which 3 DOCG’s and 1 DOC, Vincenzo Mercurio, is the consultant winemaker for Cantine di Marzo. Profoundly knowledgeable of the wine world, he knows that he has the chance of making wine according to his own winemaking project in perfect harmony with the estate.
“I have been consulting Cantine di Marzo since 2016 which is starting to be quite a some time. Between all of us, Ferrante di Somma, his team and myself there is a harmony seldom found. I hope that by tasting the wines, you might feel that in some way.”
Vincenzo Mercurio, winemaker at Cantine Di Marzo