Basilicata makes an impression as soon as you drive through the border with Campania. The contrast with green and crowded Campania couldn’t be stronger. This is a rugged, windswept region that offers big-sky horizons and broad zones of deserted farmland and abandoned stone dwellings. Beautiful and haunting. You can sense the isolation and poverty that the inhabitants suffered for centuries. The effects of ancient deforestation and the impoverishment of the land are sobering to see.

Here and there old towns have gathered up most of those who haven’t emigrated, such as Venosa, the birthplace of Horace, and a fascinating mix of modern and medieval. Towns like Venosa, Rionero and Maschito are in the prime wine-producing part of the region, the Aglianico del Vùlture appellation.

Monte Vùlture is a volcanic massif that dominates northern Basilicata, and its soils impart a fiery minerality to the Aglianico that makes its finest wines. A rugged topography, old vineyards, hot temperatures during the day and chilly ones at night. All contribute to the powerful, aromatic character of Aglianico del Vùlture.

Producers from Basilicata
Musto-Carmelitano