Southern belles – Campania
Ben on Monday 19 July
Last week three learned journos and I departed Gatwick at a very early hour, bound for Campania and Puglia. On arrival, first stop… the car hire office. Sweltering in the Neapolitan heat haze, the staff revealed that our car wasn’t ‘quite ready’. ‘We’ll have the BMW then’ suggested Tim Atkin, always with an eye out for a potential upgrade. The staff almost fell for it, before they realised there was a less expensive alternative available. And so, in our trusty Lancia we headed up the motorway to the Avellino hills. I was under strict instructions from Sergio and Mark to visit Trattoria Valleverde in Atripalda. The fact that we couldn’t get into their car park because it was full of police vehicles we took as a positive, and indeed the whole local force appeared to be tucking in to the fabulous food in this unpretentious local restaurant. 
Francesca Festa from Feudi was there to meet us. She soon had plates of antipasti ordered, and Feudi’s on trade selection of wines to taste alongside. Francesca revealed that Feudi’s new President would be dropping by – but when a youthful face in linen shirt and jeans stopped by our table, we were somewhat surprised to discover that this was he - Antonio Capaldo. Ex- McKinsey, he has lots of good, fresh ideas for Feudi, the winery which really put Campania on the map. Fortified by espressos to dispel any mid afternoon langour, we headed up the hill to Feudi’s beautiful winery. 
This architect-designed building incorporates a Michelin starred restaurant, Marenna, and is cleverly built into the hillside so as to maximise the cooling effect of the soil. On the ‘ground’ level the outside grounds are festooned with fountains and beds of roses . Below stairs we wandered in the cool of the barrel cellar where wine slumbered to the sound of running water and taped madrigals played over the speaker system. A very calm, reflective environment to bring wine up in! We then proceeded to the serious business of tasting. Particular standouts here were the Greco di Tufo (the soil in the vineyards has layers of volcanic ash in it which add minerality and vigour to the wine), and the different Aglianico wines Feudi produce: Rubrato, Taurasi and their mighty Serpico. Each wine showed the different facets which Aglianico is capable of, and the Serpico takes this fairly unknown grape into fine wine territory. Tim and I spotted a bottle of the 1999 Serpico on a shelf – and suggested it would be interesting to try. Francesca kindly agreed, and the wine was uncorked. Showing real depth of fruit, still young on the palate and clearly with a long future potential, this wine was really crackling with sensory pleasure. With the taste of Serpico still on our tongues, we bid farewell to Feudi and headed east in the Lancia.