In the Cilento, wine is drunk alongside olive oil, figs and home-made bread, as part of a way of eating the world has learned to call the Mediterranean diet. We have tasted it in hilltop villages and in towns overlooking the sea, and it struck us as a mirror of this land: simple, honest and bound to the table. Here is the Cilento DOC.
The production area
It is a broad appellation: the production rules list almost sixty municipalities in the province of Salerno, nearly all within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. It stretches from the coast at Agropoli, Castellabate, Pollica, Ascea, Centola and Camerota to the inland towns of Vallo della Lucania, Gioi, Rutino, Prignano Cilento and Torchiara, and southwards as far as Sapri. Capaccio Paestum is part of it too. The soils are clay and limestone, and the climate is warm and ventilated by sea breezes.
Grapes and types
The production rules provide for five types:
- Cilento Bianco, based on Fiano (60-65%) with Tuscan Trebbiano, Greco bianco or Malvasia;
- Cilento Rosso, based on Aglianico (60-75%) with Piedirosso or Primitivo;
- Cilento Rosato, based on Sangiovese with Aglianico, Primitivo or Piedirosso;
- Cilento Aglianico, with at least 85% of the grape, also as riserva after three years of ageing, two of them in cask;
- Cilento Fiano, with at least 85% of the grape.
Aglianico and Fiano are Campania's two great grapes, and here they give wines that differ from those of Irpinia: sunnier and more immediate.
History and recognition
Winegrowing in the Cilento has ancient roots: the production rules link it to the presence of Greek colonists, who founded cities on the coast such as Poseidonia (Paestum) and Elea (Velia). The DOC was recognised by a decree of 3 May 1989 and updated in 2011 and 2014. The Park's territory, together with the sites of Paestum and Velia and the Certosa di Padula, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
Food pairings
The Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024 suggests very Cilento-style pairings, which we recommend you try: Aglianico with game and with fusilli in mutton ragù, the white with seafood starters and with pulses, such as lagane e ceci (pasta with chickpeas). Fiano also goes well with anchovies and with fresh goat's cheeses, such as Cacioricotta caprino del Cilento.
The Salerno appellations are overseen by the Consorzio di tutela Vita Salernum Vites, recognised by the Ministry, as reported in the Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024.
Where to taste it and what is nearby
The Cilento vineyards are easy to explore together with the sea and archaeology. We recommend Paestum and its temples, The Archaeological Park of Velia and Agropoli, the old town and the castle; to understand the local cooking there is Pioppi and the Mediterranean diet. The full picture of the area is in The Cilento: what to do and what to see, and that of the Salerno appellations in The wines of Salerno. For an itinerary through all of Campania's vineyards, read our guide The wines of Campania and compare this DOC with the nearby Castel San Lorenzo DOC.
Sources: MASAF, production rules for DOP and IGP wines; Cilento DOC production rules; UNESCO, Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park; Campania Region with AIS Campania, Guida Catalogo 2024 of the wine-growing and wine-making companies of Campania.
Photo at the top (Vallo della Lucania): Miki.mod at Italian Wikipedia (Original text: Michele Modica), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.