Description
This is one of those great Italian white wines that appeals to a broad swath of people across the wine enthusiast spectrum, from novice to expert. It has a subtle complexity with pretty white floral notes, melon and citrus and a lilting nutty almond edge on the crisp, clean, mineral-driven finish. Fiano di Avellino is considered by many to be one of the great white wines of Italy and Ciro Picariello is considered one of its finest, most well respected makers. The Picariello family planted four hectares of Fiano vines at 650 meters (2,100 feet) above sea level in the Summonte area of Avellino in 1992. They planted another 3 hectare Fiano vineyard at 500 meters (1,650 feet) above sea level in 2002. But, Ciro Picariello didn't start bottling wine from the family estate until 2004. He practices ‘natural’ winegrowing and winemaking not to be trendy, but to do what’s right for the health of his estate and to express what he believes to be the true characteristics of the Fiano grape. After fermenting on indigenous yeast, Ciro racks the wine and then ages it on the lees for 10 months. He adds little to no SO2 before bottling.
