Basilicata has three DOCs: the classic red Aglianico del Vulture and the recent appellations of Terra dell’Alta Val d’Agri and Matera.
Aglianico, one of southern Italy’s finest red wines, is rapidly gaining admirers elsewhere. The Aglianico vine – also the base of Campania’s Taurasi – was brought to Basilicata by the Greeks, perhaps as long ago as the 6th or 7th century BC (its name is a corruption of Hellenico).
The slopes of the extinct volcano of Monte Vulture produce a robust, deeply colored wine that can improve for many years from fine vintages, becoming increasingly refined and complex in flavor. There are also youthful versions of the wine, sometimes semisweet and even sparkling.
Terra dell’Alta Val d’Agri red and rosé are based on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Matera uses a range of
varieties in its six types of wine, including the red Sangiovese, Primitivo and Cabernet Sauvignon and the white Greco Bianco and Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata.
