Ciro Picariello

Italy’s best Fiano Di Avellino.

Ciro Picariello’s tiny 7 hectare estate lies at the heart of Campania’s white grape region of Avellino among the Irpinian hills. More precisely, he has four hectares of Fiano and red Aglianico perched on the slopes above Summonte at 650 metres msl on volcanic, calcareous clay and ‘pietra di rame’ (copper stone) soils. The remaining 3 ha of Fiano and Greco are to be found 10 km away in the village of Montefredane, at 550 msl on more clay dominant soils.

Ciro first planted his vines in 1990, then started selling fruit to Feudi di San Gregorio in 1993; from 2004 he bottles everything (all 50k bts). His is helped by his wife, while his son Bruno is at viticultural school. Their vineyards lie in a north-south orientation to benefit from the cleansing air currents that shuttle up and the down the hills. He works ‘naturally’ in the vineyard, all by hand. He counts himself fortunate in that the region receives plenty of spring rain annually.