Campania as I wrote in other posts this week is an incredibly rich region of Italy. I had never quite realized just how rich until I went to Campania Stories this April.

Among the provinces, Sannio, the home of the Samnites, a pre-historic people that lived in the area before the Romans, is one of its most ancient. In ancient times, the Sannio included other regions such as Abruzzo, Molise, and parts of Lazio, Puglia and Basilicata.

The most recognized wines from the Sannio come from Falanghina which has its own DOC. We tasted a number of these wines during our tasting on the first day of the festival and I will write about the particular wines later this week. I wanted to lay our some of the subregions today of the Sannio because I think it is very complicated. I found a wonderful post about the Sannio here.

I have had many wines from the Taburno region, mostly from Aglianico and some of their Falanghina.  Sannio in fact has a number of subregions – Sannio Solopaca, Sannio Taburno, Sannio Sant’Agata dei Goti where I believe New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio  hails from,  Sannio Guardia Sanframondi often called Sannio Guardiolo.

I remember learning about all of these sub-regions when I studied for my Sommelier certificate at the Italian Sommelier Association .  The Sannio is in two provinces – Benevento and Avellino. While in Campania I was able to visit Avellino but not Benevento. The next time I get to go there I would like to visit Benevento which seems incredible as well. My landlord for 10 years in Milan was from Benevento as are so many people I know of Italian origin here in the United States. So many people who have come to the United States hail from this part of Campania.

The Sannio is very hilly in general and the soils are a combination of gravel, sand, volcanic ash and tufa and are quite ancient.  Some of the most well-known wineries in Campania make wines in this area such as Mastroberardino, Feudi di San Gregorio, Cantina del Taburno, La Guardiense, Terre Stregate, and Di Meo.