In Praise of Fiano

 Sometimes they ask me about my favorite wine or grape. It is a question they ask me in many occasions, sometimes because of a simple curiosity, sometimes to get a confirmation to their preferences or, maybe, to get advice about the next bottle to be uncorked. I of course have no intention to stand in a pulpit with the hypocrite and pitiful superficial conviction of believing people can't wait to listen to my words and to know about my thoughts, however the answer is not simple. There are in fact too many factors determining the choice of a wine, a number of factors that in a specific moment represent a favorite bottle, certainly perfect. In case I do not have to consider other conditions or factors, among my favorite wines a special place is reserved to Marsala, Jerez (Sherry) and Port, fortified wines and generally aged for a very long time. Magnificent wines, they represent an extraordinary sensorial complexity, always new, exciting and amazing.

 I however find hard to tell what wine is my favorite one, I certainly have my own preferences and taste which are not necessarily limited to one choice. Moreover, by considering the endless number of existing grapes and wines - and not only in Italy - the choice becomes very difficult and complex as every grape and wine can express qualities to be certainly considered as unique. I also admit that, in some periods, my attention is completely caught by particular grapes which, from time to time and for many reasons, I find myself pouring them again in my glass. In these periods I give them my attention in an almost exclusive way, without forgetting - as much as I can - the rest of the world of Bacchus. I have, like to say, some “cyclic” interests to which I pay attention from time to time, grapes and wines totally catching my time and study, giving joy to my glass for a long time. Sometimes it is like meeting an old friend you did not see since a long time: sometimes you recognize him, some other times you realize he changed and become a different person. And the change is not always positive.

 Among the many grapes which are catching my attention from time to time there is Fiano, a giant of Italian wine making, one of the varieties I follow with interest. I have always had a particular interest for Fiano, a “love at first sight” happened many years ago when I tasted, for the first time, a Fiano di Avellino, at those time so far away from being recognized as DOCG. I admit that bottle was not exactly what it could be considered a worthy representative, however enough to understand it was a grape having great potentials. At those times the bottles of Fiano which could be found outside the borders of Campania were all belonging to the Irpinia area, a land that, at those times, was mainly known for Greco di Tufo. It was the beginning of a continuous discovery, in particular when I started tasting wines made of Fiano and produced in other areas or regions.

 In the past recent years - more or less ten - I noticed an extraordinary general improvement in wines produced with Fiano, something happened not only in Irpinia and Campania. It should in fact be said Fiano is not only found in Campania and interesting results have been achieved in Basilica, Apulia and Molise as well. Fiano is also found, although marginally, in other Italian regions, however the one who made this variety great is Campania, its homeland. Fiano, in this region, is not only Irpinia of course, although, indisputably, this is the territory which made this grape famous worldwide. It should in fact also be considered the two other great lands of Campania in which Fiano has been capable of giving magnificent wines: Cilento and Sannio. In these lands, to which are of course added those outside Campania, Fiano is capable of making wines with different characters, however being always elegant and valuable.

 This great grape, one of the greatest white berried grapes of Italy for sure, also proves to have an extraordinary wine making versatility. Not just white wines, but also sparkling and sweet wines made from dried grapes. Producers, in the course of the past recent years, seem to have understood Fiano better and with a more conscious approach, maybe this is also because of the many technical researches done during this time. Producers, in fact, have been successful in giving Fiano so many interpretations and complexity, from immediate and direct wines, to examples of power and complexity, capable of gracefully age with time and even become better. It should also be said that, when it is produced with this explicit purpose, Fiano gives wines capable of aging and improving for many years, while developing amazing and complex organoleptic qualities. It is not by chance, in fact, to taste Fiano wines aged in bottle for more than ten years and to have in the glass an amazing and wonderfully alive wine, sometimes even young.

 The magic of Fiano is always capable of surprising our senses, also thanks to its capacity of amazingly interpreting the territory. We should in fact think about the influence of the volcanic soil of Irpinia compared to the wines produced in Cilento and its renowned flysch. Different territories giving distant interpretations of the same grape. A magic which can also be seen in the many bubbles made from Fiano and that, in particular in recent times, are getting more and more popular, both made in closed thank and with the classic method. A success achieved not by chance and not just because of Fiano. It is also about a better awareness of producers who, finally, understood the huge potentials of their lands and, among the other things, is also generous in red grapes, in particular Aglianico. Fiano, ladies and gentlemen, is a grape capable of always giving emotions, a well known talent since remote times as it is documented by the many chroniclers of the past who praised its wines. A magic renewing at every vintage and deserving more than a praise. A monument, I would say.