When we climbed Mount Epomeo, on foot from Fontana, we understood why vineyards on Ischia mean hard work: narrow terraces, dry-stone walls, slopes running down to the sea. The Epomeo IGT takes its name from this very mountain, the highest point on the island.
The mountain that gives the name
Epomeo rises to 789 metres and towers over the whole island. Its slopes are covered in woods and, in many places, in vineyards wrested from the rock. The terraces are held up by dry-stone walls built from the local stone known on the island as green tuff: the work of generations that has shaped the landscape.
An all-island IGT
Recognised in 1995, the IGT covers the whole territory of the six municipalities of the island of Ischia: Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Lacco Ameno, Forio, Serrara Fontana and Barano d'Ischia. It complements the Ischia DOC, among the first appellations in Italy, recognised in 1966: the IGT takes in the island's wines that follow rules different from those of the DOC.
Types and grapes
The production rules provide for white, red and rosé, also frizzante and amabile (medium-sweet), red novello and passitos. Unlike other IGTs, it does not require grapes to be named on the label: any variety permitted in the province of Naples may be used. On the island, however, the stars remain Biancolella and Forastera among the whites and Piedirosso, known here as "Per' e palummo", among the reds.
A curiosity
Many of the island's cellars were dug straight into the tuff, taking advantage of the cool, constant temperature of the rock. Traditionally the wine is served with coniglio all'ischitana, Ischia-style rabbit, the signature dish of the farming cuisine of the interior, far from the beaches.
An island of vineyards
Ischia was once far more cultivated than it is today: wine was one of the island's main resources and was shipped by sea to Naples. Many terraces were abandoned with the arrival of tourism, but walking the inland paths you can still see a great many of them. Today some winegrowers are restoring them, often working by hand because machines cannot reach them. Epomeo IGT, together with the Ischia DOC, helps keep this landscape alive, and we recommend discovering it away from the beaches, around Panza, Buonopane and the villages of Serrara.
The Consorzio di tutela vini Campi Flegrei e Ischia, recognised by the Ministry, operates here, as the Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024 points out.
Where to taste it and what is nearby
We recommend going up to Serrara Fontana for the Epomeo trail and then heading down towards Forio and its sunsets. Read The Island of Ischia: what to do and what to see and our guide to Ischia's spas and thermal parks, then the overview in The wines of Naples. To fit Ischia into a journey through the wine areas, you will find ideas in The wines of Campania.
Sources: MASAF – Production rules for DOP and IGP wines, Italian Wine Central – IGP Epomeo; Campania Region with AIS Campania, Guida Catalogo 2024 of the wine-growing and wine-making companies of Campania.
Photo at the top (Forio): unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.