Few wines can boast a reputation two thousand years long. Falerno was already being quoted by the Latin poets, and we wanted to see for ourselves the slopes of Monte Massico, in the north of the province of Caserta, where it is still made today. Here is the story of the Falerno del Massico DOC, heir to the most celebrated wine of antiquity.
The production area
The DOC covers five municipalities in the province of Caserta: Sessa Aurunca, Cellole, Mondragone, Falciano del Massico and Carinola. The vines climb the Massico hills, between the sea of the Domitian coast and the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, on soils that are partly volcanic and partly limestone. This is the ancient Ager Falernus of the Romans.
Grapes and types
The production rules provide for five types:
- Bianco, from at least 85% Falanghina;
- Rosso, from Aglianico (at least 60%) and Piedirosso (up to 40%);
- Rosso riserva, with at least two years of ageing, one of them in wooden casks;
- Primitivo, from at least 85% Primitivo grapes;
- Primitivo riserva or vecchio, with the same minimum ageing as the rosso riserva.
It was the Primitivo that intrigued us: a grape we associate with Apulia, which has found a second home here, giving warm, structured reds.
From Roman Falernum to the DOC
The production rules themselves recall that as early as the 2nd century BC the Romans began intensive vine growing in the Ager Falernus, and that the wine left the coastal ports for the whole empire. Falernum was celebrated by authors such as Horace, Pliny the Elder and Martial, and the Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024 calls it "the best-known, most appreciated and most expensive wine of antiquity". We do not know for certain which grapes it was made from back then: today's wine is something else, but it is born on the same hills. The modern DOC was recognised by a decree of 3 January 1989, and the production rules were last updated in 2014.
Food pairings
The reds, especially the riservas, are ideal with roasts, grilled meat and mature cheeses. The Falanghina white goes with seafood starters, grilled fish and, quite naturally, with Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP: we are a stone's throw from the Volturno plain, where buffalo are at home.
In the Caserta area the appellations are overseen by the Consorzio di tutela VITICA, recognised by the Ministry, as reported in the Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024.
Where to taste it and what is nearby
Sessa Aurunca is a stop not to be missed, with its Romanesque cathedral and Roman theatre: we tell you about it in Teano and Sessa Aurunca, between the Romans and the Middle Ages. Behind the vineyards lies The Roccamonfina volcano and its park, with the Roccamonfina IGT of the same name. To compare Falerno with the other appellations of the province, read The wines of Caserta and, for a journey through the vineyards of the whole region, our guide The wines of Campania.
Sources: MASAF, production rules for DOP and IGP wines; Falerno del Massico DOC production rules; Campania Region with AIS Campania, Guida Catalogo 2024 of the wine-growing and wine-making companies of Campania.
Photo at the top (Sessa Aurunca): Gianni Bencivenga, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.