Vadiaperti, Fiano di Avellino

Wine-world tastemakers have traditionally banished Italian whites to the proverbial corner, categorizing them as innocuous refreshers. But Italian white wine continues to grow exponentially more interesting. The cream has begun to rise to the top, as vintners isolate the varieties and terroirs best-suited to genuinely great white wine. It so happens that two such grapes/places are in the southern region of Campania, which is not merely the cradle of ancient viticulture but a place with two of Italy’s greatest white grapes: Fiano and Greco. Both thrive in Campania’s cool, hilly Irpinia region, in soils of mineral-rich, compacted volcanic ‘tuff’—tufo in Italian, so fundamental to Irpinia wine culture that it is the name of a town, and, in turn, a denomination of origin (Greco di Tufo). This superb Fiano di Avellino (also named for a village of origin) demands a place on the world stage: It’s an aromatic, un-oaked white with nice mid-palate texture supported by vibrant freshness. Notes of