We saw the temples of Paestum at sunset and, turning our gaze inland, the hills of the Cilento covered in olive trees and vines. This is the landscape of the Paestum IGT, an indication that brings together the memory of Magna Graecia and today's winegrowing.
From ancient Poseidonia to the present day
The city was founded by the Greeks under the name of Poseidonia and later became Roman Paestum. The Greek colonists brought with them the culture of the vine and of wine, which has never been interrupted in the Cilento. The name of the IGT is therefore a tribute to history rather than a boundary: the production area extends well beyond the archaeological site.
The territory
Established in 1995, the IGT covers some eighty municipalities in the province of Salerno, across the Sele plain, the Cilento coast and the inland hills. The soils are often clay and limestone, and the climate is warm and ventilated by sea breezes: conditions that favour ripe, fragrant grapes.
Types and grapes
The production rules provide for white, red and rosé, also frizzante and amabile (medium-sweet), red novello and passitos. The label may name Fiano, Greco, Coda di Volpe and Moscato among the whites; Aglianico, Barbera, Piedirosso, Primitivo and Sciascinoso among the reds. Cilento Fiano is perhaps the white we would recommend trying first: here it has a sunnier character than in Irpinia.
A curiosity
The presence of Barbera and Moscato surprises visitors from the north. In the Salerno area these grapes have long been grown and also appear in the nearby Castel San Lorenzo DOC: a small sign of how grape varieties travelled around Italy long before appellations existed.
Wine and Cilento cooking
Here wine is drunk alongside buffalo mozzarella from the Sele plain, Paestum artichokes and the dishes of the Mediterranean diet, which found its laboratory right here in the Cilento. Fiano whites go well with the seafood cooking of the coast, while Aglianico reds suit the meat dishes and cheeses of the interior. We recommend trying them where they are made, with local produce.
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
After the temples of Capaccio Paestum, we recommend heading up towards Agropoli and Castellabate, or towards the hills of Ogliastro Cilento. Read Paestum and its temples, Cilento DOC and our article on the Carciofo di Paestum IGP artichoke, then go back to the overview in The wines of Salerno. To put the stages of your trip together, you will find everything in The wines of Campania.
Sources: MASAF – Production rules for DOP and IGP wines, Italian Wine Central – IGP Paestum; Campania Region with AIS Campania, Guida Catalogo 2024 of the wine-growing and wine-making companies of Campania.
Photo at the top (Capaccio Paestum): Fiore S. Barbato, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.