Basilicata

The Italian region with the capital Potenza lies "at the bottom of the boot". Viticulture can be traced back to the Phoenicians. The Romans called the land Lucania and this name is still in use today alongside Basilicata. The current name is derived from the Byzantine "basilikos", which in the 9th and 10th centuries was a term for the provincial princes who ruled here. The mountainous highlands consist mainly of sedimentary rock with soils of clay, limestone and sand and are crossed by numerous watercourses. Basilicata is enclosed by the three regions of Apulia, Calabria and Campania. There are two short stretches of coastline on the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas.

The vineyards cover around 2,000 hectares of vineyards, which are divided into many thousands of sites, often less than one hectare in size. The largest part is located in the east near Matera in river valleys and in the coastal plain of the Ionian Sea around Metaponto. In the 6th century BC, the Greeks are said to have planted the ancestor of today's dominant red wine variety Aglianico (or Aglianico del Vulture) here, as well as Aleatico, Bombino Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ciliegiolo, Malvasia Nera di Basilicata, Merlot, Montepulciano, Primitivo (Tribidrag) and Sangiovese. Important white wine varieties are Asprinio (Greco), Bombino Bianco, Fiano, Greco Bianco, Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata, Moscato Bianco (Muscat Blanc) and Trebbiano. The DOC/DOCG zones account for around a third of wine production.

• Aglianico del V ulture (DOC)
• Aglianico del Vulture Superiore (DOCG)
• Basilicata (IGT)
• Grottino di Roccanova (DOC)
• Matera (DOC)
• Terre dell'Alta Val d'Agri (DOC)