On Ischia, wine has almost three thousand years of history, and it shows: climbing towards Mount Epomeo we found vineyards on terraces held up by green tuff walls, in places you can only reach on foot. Few wines have told us the story of an island so well. This is the Ischia DOC, one of the first appellations in Italy.
The production area
The area covers the whole island, divided between the municipalities of Ischia, Barano d'Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Forio, Lacco Ameno and Serrara Fontana. The vines climb the slopes of Epomeo on volcanic soils, in small terraces supported by dry-stone walls known here as parracine. The work is almost entirely done by hand, which is why production is limited.
Grapes and types
The island's emblematic grapes are two whites, Biancolella and Forastera, and two reds, Piedirosso (known here as Per' e Palummo) and Guarnaccia. The production rules provide for:
- Bianco, from Forastera and Biancolella, also as superiore and spumante;
- Rosso, from Guarnaccia and Piedirosso;
- Biancolella and Forastera, with at least 85% of the named grape;
- Piedirosso or Per' e Palummo, also in a passito version.
From Nestor's Cup to the DOC
Ischia is ancient Pithekoussai, the first settlement of the Euboean Greeks in the West, founded in the 8th century BC: it was they who brought vine growing here. The most famous find is Nestor's Cup, discovered in the necropolis of San Montano in Lacco Ameno and kept in the Archaeological Museum of Pithecusae at Villa Arbusto: its inscription, among the oldest in the Greek alphabet, celebrates wine itself. The production rules also mention the remains of a Greek farmhouse discovered at Punta Chiarito, near Panza. In modern times Ischia was among the first Italian wines to obtain the Denomination of Origin, by decree of 3 March 1966, as the Campania Region's Guida Catalogo 2024 points out.
Food pairings
The Bianco and the Biancolella are perfect with the island's seafood cooking. Piedirosso goes with roasts and grilled meat and above all with coniglio all'ischitana, Ischia-style rabbit, the island's quintessential peasant dish: a traditional pairing we recommend you do not miss.
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
To plan your visit, start from The Island of Ischia: what to do and what to see, then visit The Aragonese Castle and the Sea Museum of Ischia and treat yourself to a break with the spas and thermal parks of Ischia. The island also produces Epomeo IGT wine. An overview of all the Neapolitan appellations is in The wines of Naples, and for an itinerary through the vineyards of the whole region there is our guide The wines of Campania.
Sources: MASAF, production rules for DOP and IGP wines; Ischia DOC production rules; FAI, Villa Arbusto - Museo di Pithecusae; Campania Region with AIS Campania, Guida Catalogo 2024 of the wine-growing and wine-making companies of Campania.
Photo at the top (Ischia): Dr.Conati at Italian Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.