Preliminary observations on the main geographical and climatic characteristics of the Taurasi DOCG wine district in Irpinia (Southern Italy)

Michele Sisto^1,2, Angelo Cusano², Antonio Di Lisio³ & Filippo Russo^2
1Fondazione Sistema Irpinia. ²University of Sannio. ³Environmentalist – Freelance.
Corresponding author e-mail: sisto.cs@fondazionesistemairpinia.it

For a long time, it has been an established and shared notion that vine-wine landscapes represent the most remarkable forms of landscapes deriving from human activity, both through the mark they leave on the territory and in the cultural traditions associated to them. Irpinia (Province of Avellino, Campania Region) is one of the national territories which is more marked by this type of traditional cultivation. Among them, stands out a wine of the highest quality, Taurasi DOCG wine. The purpose of this preliminary study is to highlight the geo-environmental characters of the territory which determine the specificity of this noble wine product. In addition to the scientific interest, the data collected and the results obtained so far lead to believe that a much more in-depth study will contribute to the reporting of the Landscape of Taurasi DOCG in the National Register of Traditional Rural Landscapes. For the purposes of this study, we are making use of: 1) GIS technologies for the elaboration of the various thematic; 2) a dedicated software for the climatic characterization of the investigated area. The results obtained so far are definitely promising. Comparison with historical cartography will be made in a second phase of the work.

Irpinia, Taurasi DOCG wine, rural landscapes, rural tourism.