WINE NEWS /
Solopaca DOC
The town of Solopaca gets its name from Solis
pagus, or land of
the sun. It is here that the wine of the same name is produced, along
the river Taburno in the province of Benevento. The details are hazy,
but historians have found that before the rise of the Greeks and
Romans, Etruscans and the natives of Sannio cultivated Trebbiano
Toscano and Malvasia Toscana here, exercising careful selection in
their vineyards. Virgil and Horace lauded Solopaca, and it was in
the first century A.D. that winemakers first marketed their product
with great success. This Campanian wine from the Sannio zone was
awarded DOC status in 1973, and with the 2002 revision was given
the right to a new ‘Classico’ designation. Five different
wines are covered by the Solopaca DOC: Bianco, which is made from
Trebbiano Toscano with possible additions of Falanghina, Coda di
Volpe, Malvasia Toscana, and Malvasia di Candia; Rosso and Rosato,
which are primarily Sangiovese and Aglianico; the wines Falanghina
and Aglianico that are made from the eponymous grapes; and Spumante
brut, in which Falanghina dominates. Both the Rosso and Bianco can
qualify for the Classico designation if they follow certain criteria
and are born of the ancient nucleus of the zone, and the Rosso may
also attain Superiore and Riserva status if it meets the legal standards.
Solopaca, like many of the great wine regions of
Campania, is enjoying a renaissance movement due to the resurrection
of many great antique
varietals (Fiano, Aglianico, Greco di Tufo, Coda di Volpe, Falanghina,
Pallegrello Bianco, Casavecchia) in this Southern land of antiquity.
Find out more about this region by reading about some of its great
producers: De Conciliis, Feudi
di San Gregorio, Galardi, Imparato,
Mastroberardino,
Molettieri,
Vestini Campagnano.
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