Campania Stories 2026: The Rise of Pallagrello Bianco Among the Best Whites

The tasting of Campanian white wines at Campania Stories 2026 provides a selective overview. Winemag tasted 74 wines, with an overall average of 89.9/100. The level is high, but not uniform. The most convincing performances come from Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino, and Campi Flegrei Falanghina, alongside some white Falerno del Massico. Nothing new? Not exactly. The news is the exponential growth of the Pallagrello Bianco Terre del Volturno IGT group, which is now joining the ranks of the best Campanian white wines.

It is from this spotlight, focused on a versatile and hitherto undervalued grape variety, that the story of the latest edition of the “Campanian previews” begins. The event opened in the halls of the splendid Royal Palace of Caserta with the usual program dedicated to the national and international press, trade operators, and regional wine-growing areas. In the coming days, Winemag will publish all the scores assigned to the tasted wines.

The Terre del Volturno IGT Pallagrello Bianco confirms the role of the Alto Casertano as one of the most interesting areas in Campania, off the beaten paths of Irpinia’s Fiano and Greco. The average is around 89.4/100.

The best is the Morrone 2024 by Alois, 92/100, supported by substance, phenolic structure, sapidity, and extreme precision of fruit. At 91/100 is the Caiatì 2025 by Alois, younger and still needing to open up, but rich in substance. The Beati Colli 2025 by Masseria Piccirillo reaches 90/100, with freshness, concentration, and an acidic vein.

Fun fact: the top three Pallagrellos bear the signature of the young enologist Giovanni Piccirillo, born in 1990, who is also successfully managing another winery performing well with the same variety: Scaramuzzo from Pontelatone (89/100).

The highest score at Campania Stories 2026 is 95/100 for the Greco di Tufo DOCG 2025 by Di Meo. It is the most complete white of the tasting, with strong aging potential. Three wines sit at 94/100. The Campi Flegrei DOC Falanghina 2025 by Agnanum confirms the importance of the Phlegraean area. The Campi Flegrei DOC Falanghina Cru Vigna Astroni 2022 by Astroni shows greater evolution and depth.

The Fiano di Avellino DOCG Sequenzha 2025 by Benito Ferrara combines freshness, structure, and layering. Just below, at 93/100, are Villa Raiano Fiano di Avellino DOCG 2025, Tenuta Cavalier Pepe Fiano di Avellino DOCG Riserva Brancato 2024, Benito Ferrara Greco di Tufo DOCG Vigna Cicogna 2025, and Tenuta Pietrafusa Greco di Tufo DOCG Daltavilla 2025. In this range, sapidity, structure, and perspective particularly stand out.

The Greco di Tufo DOCG is the most convincing group in terms of average and peaks: approximately 91.1/100 across 11 evaluated wines. This result isn’t just due to Di Meo’s 95/100, but a very solid high-end range. The Greco di Tufo DOCG 2025 by Villa Raiano scores 92/100, with a complete profile and great potential. The Colli di Lapio Alexandros 2025 reaches 92/100, focusing on sapidity, fruit, and fleshiness.

At 93/100, the Vigna Cicogna 2025 by Benito Ferrara shows a warmer and fruitier register, balanced by freshness and sapidity. Also at 93/100, the Daltavilla 2025 by Tenuta Pietrafusa works on fruit, depth, and length.

The Greco shows immediacy in the latest vintage, but also the capacity for evolution. Recurring traits are sapidity, phenolic structure, freshness, and long-term stability.

The Fiano di Avellino DOCG has an average around 90.3/100. Quality is high, but more variable compared to the Greco. The peak is the Sequenzha 2025 by Benito Ferrara, 94/100, an important, fresh, and structured wine. The Fiano di Avellino 2025 by Villa Raiano scores 93/100 thanks to tension, verticality, and fruit. The Brancato 2024 by Tenuta Cavalier Pepe, a Riserva, also reaches 93/100, with structure and room for growth.

The same score goes to Al.Ge.Lo by Ciro Picariello: an interpretation reminiscent of Riesling for its tension and texture. Among other relevant performances, the Fiano di Avellino Arianiello 2022 by Tenute Capaldo (Feudi di San Gregorio) reaches 92/100, with pure fruit, sapidity, and length.

The Fiano di Avellino 2025 by Di Meo stands at 91/100, more textural and oily. Colli di Lapio 2025 scores 91/100, with tension and a sapid finish. Critical issues with Fiano di Avellino mainly concern phenolics, bitterness, or components not yet integrated. The overall picture remains solid, but less compact than Greco di Tufo.

The Falanghina from Campi Flegrei is one of the strongest findings of the tasting. The average is about 90.4/100, with two wines at 94/100: Agnanum Campi Flegrei Falanghina 2025 and Astroni Cru Vigna Astroni 2022.

The result confirms a “volcanic” Falanghina, different from the Sannio version: more saline and vertical. The Campi Flegrei Falanghina 2023 by Contrada Salandra scores 91/100. The Sorbo Bianco 2021 by Cantine del Mare reaches 90/100, with salt and flesh. The Settevulcani 2025 by Martusciello Salvatore sits at 90/100.

Although not all samples are at the same level, with sometimes heavy bitterness and reduction, the Campi Flegrei group remains one of the most identity-driven of the entire white wine panel at Campania Stories 2026.

The Falerno del Massico DOC Bianco is a small but significant group. The average is around 89.2/100. The peak is the Vigna Caracci 2020 by Villa Matilde Avallone, 93/100, among the most mature and accomplished performances of the tasting. Golden color, wood, and tertiary notes are well-integrated, with balance and full expressive maturity.

Very positive also is the Anthologia 2022 by Masseria Felicia, 91/100, with a volcanic profile, pure fruit, and a slightly bitter finish. Also performing well is the Damnatio Memoriae 2024 by Gennaro Papa, still young but on the rise.

The Falanghina del Sannio and Taburno has a lower average compared to Campi Flegrei: about 88.4/100. The best in the group is the Falanghina del Sannio DOC Taburno Bio Fluusa 2025 by Nifo Sarrapochiello (93/100). Following is La Guardiense Anima Lavica 2025, 91/100, a young, sapid, and convincing wine. Several wines move between 88 and 89/100, with correct and immediate profiles, but less depth.

Fattoria La Rivolta Falanghina del Sannio Taburno Bio 2025 scores 89/100, playing on fruit and immediacy. Fontanavecchia BjondoRe 2025 reaches 89/100, with more sapid drive. Aia dei Colombi Vignasuprema 2024 also stops at 89/100, with salt in evidence. Sannio confirms reliability and clean execution, but in this selection, it less frequently reaches the peaks of personality seen in Campi Flegrei.

The reading of the scores defines fairly clear hierarchies. Greco di Tufo DOCG appears to be the most convincing denomination for its average and quality peaks. Fiano di Avellino DOCG confirms its depth and aging potential, with greater internal variability. Falanghina from Campi Flegrei is the most identity-driven territorial finding: smaller in numbers presented at the Campanian wine preview, but capable of reaching high points and offering a saline, volcanic, and recognizable interpretation.

The Pallagrello Bianco is confirmed as one of the most interesting paths outside of Irpinia, especially when it manages to hold together substance, freshness, and phenolic structure. The white Falerno del Massico provides some of the most mature and accomplished performances of the entire tasting.

Campania Stories 2026 thus presents a broad and meticulous Campania of white wines. The best wines convince not only for their aromatic immediacy but for their sapidity, structure, depth, time management, and ability to tell the story of the territory. This is the most important takeaway from the annual report: white Campania emerges when it stops chasing “easy” whites and works on identity, substance, and longevity.