Radici del Sud has now become a regular appointment for those who want a close encounter with the wineries and indigenous grape varieties of Southern Italy.
The setting is once again the enchanting Castello Normanno of Sannicandro di Bari, a place that over five days of the event hosted, on one side, producers and buyers engaged in B2B meetings and, on the other, four juries busy reviewing the wines of the South.
At the helm of Radici del Sud is once again Nicola Campanile, the driving force behind the involvement of 150 wineries from Campania, Molise, Abruzzo, Sardinia, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily. Their producers supplied the roughly 350 wines at the heart of the event, which were judged over two days of tastings by two groups of jurors—national and international.
The juries were managed in pairs, meaning that each pair of national/international juries was assigned a group of wines classified by category. It was an interesting comparison to understand the possible differences in appreciation, taste and perception between international palates and Italian ones. The differences are there, though not always. On some wines the opinions converge, but there are undoubtedly differences, and this prompts a small reflection on the styles chosen by individual producers—sometimes not entirely convincing for us, but evidently calibrated for foreign markets rather than the domestic one.
For me, Radici is always a very interesting experience. I even find the event intriguing, because it allows me to become familiar with lesser-known grape varieties, but it is also a moment of great pleasure in engaging nose and palate with those Southern wines that are always capable of delivering wonderful emotions.
As in the previous edition, there were confirmations and small surprises.
There were few disappointments, making these two days overall extremely positive. In my view, the event once again confirmed—first and foremost—a positive trend for Nero di Troia. There were also confirmations for some Greco, for the ever-reliable Vermentino, and pleasant surprises from indigenous varieties such as Piedirosso and Susumaniello. It is also interesting to note the good distribution of wines in the rankings across the regions participating in the competition.
My small personal disappointment, however, concerns rosé wines. I am not referring to taste—which at times also tends a bit too much toward “candy-like” notes—nor to the quality of the wines, but rather to the clear lack of a precise stylistic identity with which they present themselves. Glasses that ranged from almost white to almost red with almost mathematical regularity. This lack—my very personal opinion—takes away from Southern rosé wines that extra edge that Provençal rosés or even those from Northern Italy possess, wines that are clearly more capable of competing on the market also thanks to the visual and marketing component, which in rosé seems to play a significant role.
A total of seventy wines were awarded.
For me, the pleasure of sharing a professional jury table remains, but one that is at the same time capable of not setting aside the pleasure of sharing wine. With Luciano Pignataro as jury president, Sara Cintelli, Marco Sciarrini, Francesco Bonfio and Leonardo Lombardi completed a cohesive working group, almost always aligned in their judgments.
The second Italian jury was composed of Francesco Muci (president), Francesco Santini, Paolo Frugoni, Antonio Tomacelli and Angelo Mauriello.
For the international juries, the first included Maurizio Valeriani (president), Joseph Darrel, Katarina Andersson, Tanisha Townsend and Lena Sarnholm, while the second was composed of Andrea Terraneo (president), Ulrika Ferlin, Rowena Dumlao, Nananyoung Baek and Jenny Viant Gomez.
So there was a distinctly international atmosphere among juries and buyers at the sixteenth edition of Radici del Sud, but also plenty of wine, plenty of South, and plenty of wines waiting to be discovered.
What better opportunity to start browsing through the rankings and take inspiration for new wines to try?
These are the awarded wines, divided in a very interesting way by category and by the judgments expressed by the Italian and international juries.
Enjoy the reading
SPUMANTI DA UVE AUTOCTONE A BACCA BIANCA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – SOLAIS V.S.Q. 2016 – CANTINA SANTADI – SARDEGNA
2° – NOBLESSE 2017 – BENANTI – SICILIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – LEGGIADRO 2018 – PRODUTTORI DI MANDURIA PUGLIA
2° – SPUMANTE METODO CLASSICO 2017 – VIGNE GUADAGNO – CAMPANIA
SPUMANTI DA UVE AUTOCTONE A BACCA ROSSA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – BALOI 2019 BIO – VITIVINICOLA FRATELLI PUDDU – SARDEGNA
2° – SANSEVIERIA 2017 – D’ARAPRÌ SPUMANTE CLASSICO – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – NONSENSE 2019 BIO – CASA COMERCI – CALABRIA
2° – BALOI 2019 BIO – VITIVINICOLA FRATELLI PUDDU – SARDEGNA
FALANGHINA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – CIVICO 2 2020 BIO – TENUTA FONTANA – CAMPANIA
2° EX AEQUO – DEMETRA 2020 – ANTICO CASTELLO – CAMPANIA
2° EX AEQUO – I 5 FIGLI 2019 – PLACIDO VOLPONE – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – I 5 FIGLI 2019 – PLACIDO VOLPONE – PUGLIA
2° – VIGNA CARACCI 2017 – VILLA MATILDE AVALLONE – CAMPANIA
GRECO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – REFULU 2020 BIO – CASA COMERCI – CALABRIA
2° EX AEQUO – DALTAVILLA GRECO DI TUFO 2020 – VILLA MATILDE AVALLONE – CAMPANIA
2° EX AEQUO – GRECO DI TUFO 2018 – DI PRISCO – CAMPANIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – ANAIS 2020 – CANTINE KANDEA PUGLIA
2° EX AEQUO – TERRA ASPRA DOP MATERA GRECO 2019 BIO – TENUTA MARINO BASILICATA
2° EX AEQUO – SANNIO GRECO DOC 2018 – ROSSOVERMIGLIO – CAMPANIA
FIANO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – FIANO D’AVELLINO 100% 2019 – TENUTA DEL MERIGGIO – CAMPANIA
2°- BIANCOFIORE 2018 – CANTINE KANDEA – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – FIANO D’AVELLINO 100% 2019 – TENUTA DEL MERIGGIO – CAMPANIA
2° – FIANO PUGLIA IGP 2020 – VILLA SCHINOSA – PUGLIA
VERMENTINO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – FILINE 2020 – CANTINA DORGALI – SARDEGNA
2° – SMERALDA 2020 – TENUTE SMERALDA – SARDEGNA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – IGT ROMANGIA BIANCO – SUSSINKU BIANCO 2019 – NURAGHE CRABIONI – SARDEGNA
2° – FILINE 2020 – CANTINA DORGALI – SARDEGNA
GRUPPO MISTO VINI BIANCHI DA VITIGNI AUTOCTONI MENO DIFFUSI DEL SUD ITALIA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – LUNATICO 2020 – VITIVINICOLA FULGHESU LE VIGNE – SARDEGNA
2° – PERDA PINTÀ 2019 BIO – GIUSEPPE SEDILESU – SARDEGNA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° EX AEQUO – COSTA DEL MULINO 2020 – CANTINA FRENTANA – ABRUZZO
1° EX AEQUO – VINOCONTADINO PECORINO IGT 2019 – PODERE DELLA TORRE – ABRUZZO
1° EX AEQUO – SANNIO CODA DI VOLPE DOP 2020 – A.A. FONTANAVECCHIA DI LIBERO RILLO – CAMPANIA
2° EX AEQUO – COSTA DEL MULINO 2020 – CANTINA FRENTANA – ABRUZZO
2° EX AEQUO – VERBO BIANCO 2020 – CANTINA DI VENOSA – BASILICATA
ROSATI DA VITIGNI AUTOCTONI DEL SUD ITALIA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – VERITAS CASTEL DEL MONTE BOMBINO NERO DOCG 2020 – TORREVENTO – PUGLIA
2° – SEGNO LIBRANDI CIRÒ DOC ROSATO 2020 – LIBRANDI – CALABRIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – TENUTA TRE GEMME ABRUZZO 2020 – TENUTA TRE GEMME – ABRUZZO
2° – FARAGOLA 2020 – PLACIDO VOLPONE – PUGLIA
MONTEPULCIANO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – SANNAZZARO ROSSO DEL MOLISE DOC 2017 – CAMPI VALERIO – MOLISE
2° – DIVUS 2017 – CIAVOLICH – ABRUZZO
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – MALANDRINO 2019 BIO – CATALDI MADONNA – ABRUZZO
2° – FOSSO CANCELLI MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO DOP 2017 – CIAVOLICH – ABRUZZO
NEGROAMARO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – MOROS SALICE SALENTINO RISERVA DOP 2017 – CANTINA MOROS DI CLAUDIO QUARTA – PUGLIA
2° – DON PEPÈ 2016 – CANTINA PETRELLI – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – VECCHIO SOGNO 2020 – TENUTA GIUSTINI – PUGLIA
2° EX AEQUO – METIUSCO ANNIVERSARIO 2019 – VINICOLA PALAMÀ PUGLIA
2° EX AEQUO – MASSERIA BORGO DEI TRULLI SALICE SALENTINO DOP RISERVA 2018 – MASSERIA BORGO DEI TRULLI – PUGLIA
PRIMITIVO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – PATRUNALE 2017 – VINICOLA PALAMÀ – PUGLIA
2° – DHES 2018 – DOMUS HORTAE VIGNAIOLI DAL 1788 – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – PATU’ 2020 – TENUTA GIUSTINI PUGLIA
2° – SAN GAETANO 2018 – CANTINE DUE PALME SOC. COOP. AGR. PUGLIA
NERO DI TROIA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – NOBILES 2019 – L’ANTICA CANTINA – PUGLIA
2° – NERO DI TROIA – TERRE DEL CRIFO 2020 – CRIFO – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – NERO DI TROIA PUGLIA IGP 2018 – VILLA SCHINOSA – PUGLIA
2° – DONNA CLELIA SAN SEVERO NERO DI TROIA 2016 – PALLOTTA LEONARDO – PUGLIA
CANNONAU
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – NURULE 2018 – CANTINA DORGALI – SARDEGNA
2° – GRANADU 2019 – TENUTE SMERALDA – SARDEGNA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – DONOSU 2019 – CANTINA TANI – SARDEGNA
2° EX AEQUO – GRANADU 2019 – TENUTE SMERALDA – SARDEGNA
2° EX AEQUO – BALLU TANDU 2015 BIO – GIUSEPPE SEDILESU – SARDEGNA
GRUPPO MISTO VINI ROSSI DA VITIGNI AUTOCTONI MENO DIFFUSI DEL SUD ITALIA
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – CONTRADA DAFARA GALLUZZO ETNA DOC ROSSO 2018 – BENANTI – SICILIA
2° – MORAMORA 2020 – CANTINE PAOLOLEO – PUGLIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – SERRE 2020 – CANTINE DUE PALME SOC. COOP. AGR. – PUGLIA
2° – PIETRA 2019 – MENHIR SALENTO – PUGLIA
MAGLIOCCO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – NATUS 2019 – MARCHISA – CALABRIA
2° – ‘A BATIA 2017 BIO – CASA COMERCI – CALABRIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° EX AEQUO – SANT’ANDREA 2018 – CANTINE PIACENTINI – CALABRIA
1° EX AEQUO – MEGONIO – CALABRIA IGT 2018 – LIBRANDI – CALABRIA
2° – NATUS 2019 – MARCHISA – CALABRIA
AGLIANICO
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – CUPERSITO 2016 BIO – CASEBIANCHE – CAMPANIA
2° – JUNGANO 2018 BIO – SAN SALVATORE 1988 – CAMPANIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – CUPERSITO 2016 BIO – CASEBIANCHE – CAMPANIA
2° – VIGNA CAMARATO 2016 – VILLA MATILDE AVALLONE – CAMPANIA
TAURASI
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – NERO NÉ 2016 BIO – IL CANCELLIERE – CAMPANIA
2° – PENTAMERONE 2016 – CANTINE DELITE – CAMPANIA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° EX AEQUO – PRINCIPE LAGONESSA 2013 – AMARANO – CAMPANIA
1° EX AEQUO – TAURASI DOCG 2013 – AZIENDA AGRICOLA MOLETTIERI ADELINA – CAMPANIA
2° – PENTAMERONE 2016 – CANTINE DELITE – CAMPANIA
VINI BIOLOGICI
Giornalisti Italiani
1° – NERO NÉ 2016 BIO – IL CANCELLIERE – CAMPANIA
2° – REFULU 2020 BIO – CASA COMERCI – CALABRIA
3° – BALOI 2019 BIO – VITIVINICOLA FRATELLI PUDDU – SARDEGNA
Giornalisti Internazionali
1° – TERRA ASPRA DOP MATERA GRECO 2019 BIO – TENUTA MARINO – BASILICATA
2° – CALPAZIO 2020 BIO – SAN SALVATORE 1988 – CAMPANIA
3° – MARÌ 2020 BIO – MASSERIA MITA – PUGLIA
