I must admit to not being very familiar with this grape variety until my Diploma studies and so I was happy to find this example in a wine shop at the airport in Verona to pick up and try.

The Campagnia region is better known for the Falanghina grape variety, grown on the slopes of Vesuvious near Naples. However this example is from Basilicata slightly further south which also has volcanic soils and a bit of elevation.  Falanghina is disease resistant and so was traditionally used to reliably produce everyday drinking wines but wine makers are increasingly producing more interesting wines from lower yielding plots.

The colour is rich lemon and with some coaxing there are floral notes of honeysuckle, some citrus, orchard fruit, a touch of nectarine and some dried herbs.  Its dry with a full body as you would expect from southern Italy but there a good amount of acidity keeping it fresh which is also a common characteristic of indigenous Italian white varieties. Finally there is pleasing note of olive brine on the finish that lingers pleasantly.  The wine is not overly complex but has great balance both structurally and between fruity and savoury flavours making it work well with food.