Collection: Fiano

Fiano is a white grape variety with roots in Campania in southern Italy, where it has its heartland. Most important is the cultivation around Lapio east of Avellino, where the vineyards lie high, at around 590 metres of altitude. With documented wine production going all the way back to the 12th century, Fiano is among Italy's oldest cultivated grape varieties. Besides Campania it is also grown in Puglia, Basilicata and in Sicilia, and internationally it can be found in California, Oregon and Australia.

At Copenhagen Wine our Fiano wines come exclusively from Italy, and more specifically from Campania, the grape's region of origin. It is here that the variety shows its most characterful side, and it is here that we source the wines we carry.

Fiano produces dry white wines that range from the light and refreshing to the full-bodied and more structured, depending on the growing site and production style. The variety is not considered aromatic in the classic sense, but it holds bound aromatic compounds whose expression is influenced by, among other things, harvest timing, skin contact and any drying of the grapes. This gives the winemaker an exciting palette to work with. Another of the grape's strengths is its ageing potential: the best-anchored examples can develop nicely over ten years or more.

In the vineyard Fiano is a late-ripening variety, typically harvested in October. The berries have thick, yellow-green skins that develop brown spots at full ripeness. It is precisely these thick skins that make the grape resistant to botrytis and allow late harvests even under cooler and damp conditions. It is sensitive to oidium (powdery mildew), but less exposed to peronospora.

One final detail worth knowing: Fiano should not be confused with Minutolo, which was formerly called Fiano Minutolo. Minutolo is an entirely different, aromatic variety from Puglia with no kinship to Fiano. If you want to explore one of southern Italy's classic white wine grapes with both history and finesse, Fiano from Campania is an obvious place to begin.