You know what I don’t like about Italy?...Nothing. The land, the sea, the culture, the people, the food, the wine.

     Ah, the wine; I always come back to that. And to get to the wine in Italy, there are many beautiful routes.

     Beginning in Rome, we could head north to Tuscany or Piedmont, over undulating green hills sprinkled with fairy-tale villas. Or, why not climb east over the Apennine Mountains to Le Marche or Abruzzo, peacefully facing the gleaming Adriatic? We might roam south to Basilicata or Sicily, both bucolic and serene, yet each with its own personality.

     Every one of Italy’s 20 geographic regions, or communes, produces wine…lots of wine…and every one yields, at least, a few excellent ones, giving us a bounty of choices.

     This time, let us take the long way to a place nearby…the vineyards of Campania. In a hurry, we would drive southeast via Route A1, arriving in Campania in less than two hours. With time on our side, we wend our way due south out of Roma to the west coast, then continue southeast, along a breathtaking series of little two-lane roads that twist painfully but spectacularly along the Tyrrhenian Sea toward Napoli, the capital and largest city in Campania.

     After a pizza and a new custom-made suit, we might extend our southerly amble to the legendary beauty of the Amalfi Coast, but this time, the siren calling us is the vine, so we turn easterly into the heart of the region. Perhaps, on a first visit, it would be toward the province of Avellino, surrounded by the only three D.O.C.G.¹ areas in Campania. Our plan, instead, is to make our way northeast to the province of Benevento, seat of one of the largest wine cooperatives in Italy, and producers of stellar regionally-correct varietals.

      Campania is the second most populous commune and most densely populated in Italy, but one would not suspect that, traversing the rolling hills through countless fields of vines, as well as many other agricultural products, such as artichokes, strawberries, chestnut and hazelnut trees. As we arrive in Benevento, we notice another crop in abundance; the province is one of the largest producers of tobacco in the world.

     The small, lovely village of Guardia Sanframondi is home to La Guardiense, a farming cooperative, formed by 33 associates in 1960, with the intent of stimulating business and the local economy through combined efforts of research, development, production, shipping and marketing. In March, 2010, the association celebrated its first 50 years, having grown to well over 1000 members.

     The effectiveness of the Co-op is obvious in the quality of their products and the success of their sales locally, nationally and, increasingly, internationally. The local focus is reflected in the types of wines made, all indigenous grapes, and all showing a level of excellence and sophistication undreamt of 20 years ago.

     The new line of wines being exported to the United States was impressive in every case. All are DOC² and labeled under the brand “Guardia 33”, meaning “guard 33”, named after the 33 original founders of the cooperative, and suggesting the many symbolic strengths long associated with the number. (Dan Brown’s 2009 novel “The Lost Symbol” had the number 33 lead the protagonist to the “meaning of life”.)

     The four whites are especially interesting, in light of their familial connection; they are all members of the Greco family of grapes, now widely believed by oenologists to have been the parent of most of the white varietals in Italy, a stunning feat of proliferation, considering the nearly 1,000 different white varietals extant.

     Named for the Greeks who brought many grapes to Italy more than 2000 years ago, the Greco, as with the other whites from Guardia 33, is 100% varietal, Sannio DOC, and like the others, is aged in stainless steel. Similarly, it is gently aromatic and straw-colored, with juiciness and bright acidity. Try it with a cool buffalo mozzarella on a warm day.

     Fiano, Sannio DOC shows more intense aromas, with a lingering pestolike bouquet of flavors, including herbs and pine nuts. This one has the chops to pair with…well, veal or pork chops, as well as many seafoods. ¹ DOCG, Denominazione di Origine Cotrollata e Garantita, controlled place name with other guarantees, such as having to pass random taste tests for quality and style. There are 37 DOCG regions in Italy. ² DOC, Denominazione di Origine Caotrollata, controlled name of place of origin, now more than 300. It’s spicy flavor was known to attract bees, giving it the nickname “vitis apiano”, “beevine”. How about “Fiano Apiano”?

     Displaying a little of the nuttiness of the Fiano and citrus juiciness of the Greco, Falanghina, Guardiolo DOC, in sum, is refreshing. I can almost taste the Caprese salad, paired perfectly with it. The name is derived form the Latin term meaning “pole”, referring to the ancient Greek method of training the vines. Interestingly, as with the grape that follows, Falanghina is seldom found on its own; it is nearly always blended.

     The final white is one few Americans have tried, Coda di Volpe, Sannio DOC, “fox’s tail’”, so named by Pliny the Elder, who seemed to have had a penchant for naming things. (What were they called before?) The elongated shape of the bunches resembles a fox’s tail. The bright strawyellow color shows off the fruity, yet lightly-acidic flavors making it a terrific companion for delicate, but flavorful dishes.

     Both reds are outstanding, beginning with the stainless steel-aged Aglianico, Guardiolo DOC. Its name is thought to come from the Roman term “ellenico” (Hellenic) used for the Greeks, who brought it to Campania. In its best incarnations, it is referred to as “the Barolo of the South”. The classic style has earthiness, sometimes with notes of tar, leather and tobacco; the Guardia 33 style adds a slightly brighter and redder fruit component that lightens the usually ‘brooding’ grape. Savor it with wild boar and other game, as well as strongly-flavored pasta dishes.

     The crowning wine is an unusual blend of 80% Sangiovese/20 % Aglianico, Rosso Riserva, Guardiolo DOC, the grapes chosen from the best vineyards, the wine aged for two years in small oak casks. You may recognize the Sangiovese as the primary grape in Chianti, but in this blend, in this region, it is a very different wine, displaying the grace, complexity and personality some of the best Chiantis can only dream of. Although not extensively grown in Campania, the grape is not out of place in the region, since recent DNA testing has revealed that it is the child of an obscure Tuscan grape and the previously under-appreciated Calabrese de Montenuovo, grown for centuries in Campania. This Reserve wine has the power to match steaks and game, and the finesse to compliment lighter meats, as well as more intensely-flavored fish, such as tuna. ¹ DOCG, Denominazione di Origine Cotrollata e Garantita, controlled place name with other guarantees, such as having to pass random taste tests for quality and style. There are 37 DOCG regions in Italy. ² DOC, Denominazione di Origine Caotrollata, controlled name of place of origin, now more than 300.

     Since introduction, the wines have been showered with awards and accolades, including, for the Fiano and Aglianico, the second highest award given, “due bicchiere” (two glasses), from the most prestigious of Italian wine reviewers, “Gambero Rosso”.

     Thousands of wines available, yet, the best always stand out; these wines, like the Guardiense and Campania itself, have a long, fruitful future ahead. They will be, as their labels proclaim, “The New Old”.

 

-Patrick Sullivan