Taurasi
Encyclopedia
Taurasi is a town and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Avellino
Province of Avellino
The Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Italy. The area is typified by many small towns and villages scattered across the province; in fact only two towns have a population over 20,000; its capital city Avellino and Ariano Irpino....
, Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Taurasi is a historic town which is located in the region of Sannio. The town's name probably derives from the Latin Taurus. With in time it changed to Taurasos and then to Taurasia before changing to the format we see today. Taurasi is best known for its wine. Taurasi has an increasingly famous red wine, also named Taurasi
Taurasi (wine)
Taurasi and Taurasi riserva are red, still Italian wines based principally on the Aglianico grape variety produced in the Province of Avellino in the Campania region. They were awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in 1970 and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita status...
, made of Aglianico
Aglianico
Aglianico is a black grape grown in the Basilicata and Campania regions of Italy. The vine originated in Greece and was brought to the south of Italy by Greek settlers. The name may be a corruption of Vitis hellenica, Latin for "Greek vine"...
grapes along with Piedirosso
Piedirosso
Piedirosso is a red Italian wine grape variety that is planted primarily in the Campania region. The grape is considered a specialty of the region, being used to produce wines for local and tourist consumption. Its name "piedirosso" means "red feet" that reflects the bottom of the vine which used...
and Barbera
Barbera
Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy . It produces good yields and is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid...
.
Wines
Dominated by an ancient Longobard castle that was enlarged by the Normans, the community of Taurasi is the center of the production of the red wine of the same name. Taurasi is of extremely ancient origin. It is a wine of great body and structure, dry and austere, with an aromatic vein. The wine must be aged for three years, of which one in chestnut or oak casks. In the three succeeding years, the wine can be tasted in the fullness of its quality and is particularly good as an accompaniment to roasted red meats.The variety from which it is made, Aglianico
Aglianico
Aglianico is a black grape grown in the Basilicata and Campania regions of Italy. The vine originated in Greece and was brought to the south of Italy by Greek settlers. The name may be a corruption of Vitis hellenica, Latin for "Greek vine"...
, is believed to have been introduced by Hellenic peoples around the time of the foundation of Cumae
Cumae
Cumae is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy , and the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl...
(Cuma). The variety is found in virtually the whole of southern Italy but the wines produced from it are considerably different, depending upon the places where the vines grow. However, Campania is clearly one of its best habitats. Aglianico has a cluster of medium size that is cylindrical-conical in shape. The grapes are round and blue in color.