Today’s indigenous variety is Pallagrello Nero. It hails from the region of Campania. In the past you could find it throughout the area but today it mainly grows around the town of Caserta. There is no specific Pallagrello Nero DOC denomination but there is one called Terre del Volturno IGT which is used for wines made using this variety.

In the glass, the wine is deep in color with red and black fruit notes, lots of s”;popice and pepper. The tannins are enveloping and the acidity is contained, generally speaking.

I was introduced to the variety in 2018 when I was on a press trip to Campania. The first wine I tried with this grape was from Vestini Campagnano-Poderi Foglia. Lovely and generous as well as funny, I was excited to taste their wines after having spent time with the owners and I wasn’t disappointed. Their winery was created in 1999 and they have 10 hectares. They also have a female oenologist named Emilia Tartaglione. Their soils have clay and they are near the Volturno river, the most imporant river in the South.

Pallagrello Nero was planted in the fan-shaped vineyard by Architect Vanvitelli in 1775. Vanvitelli was the architect of the Reggia di Caserta, Campania’s version of Versailles. The Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello nero ferments in stainless steel and then spends 12 months in barrique and 12 more in the bottle.

Of the wineries in this area, Alois was the only one I had heard of previously. Founded in 1992, the winery has 20 hectares. Their oenologist is Carmine Valentino.

I tried the Caiati the Cunto Murella. The first was Pallagrello Bianco and the second Pallagrello Nero. I thought they were both terrific. Grown on clay-calcareous soils at 280 meters above sea level. The Pallagrello Nero spent 18 months in large barrels of 25 hectoliters and 12 months in the bottle.