Curated by Michele Edington, Certified Sommelier
Salerno gives you the sea right outside the ship, the Amalfi Coast around the corner and a wine country full of old pergola vines, Tintore, Piedirosso and tiny white grapes you’ll probably want to Google before lunch.
At a glance
Wine snapshot
Expect lemon peel, white flowers, broom, herbs and a salty little edge in the whites, then sour cherry, blackberry, violet, pepper and darker earthy flavors from Tintore and Piedirosso. The really old Tramonti vines add another layer of concentration that makes these wines much more serious than the scenery might lead you to expect.
Also worth a sip
The obvious bottle is limoncello, but the one I really want you to try is Concerto. It comes from Tramonti and combines a whole pile of herbs and spices with coffee and barley, which sounds like somebody emptied an apothecary into a glass and somehow made it delicious. The traditional recipe uses around fifteen herbs and spices and has been passed through the area for generations.
Try Concerto in Tramonti if you make it into the hills. It’s dark, sweet, spicy and full of licorice, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coffee and barley, and families keep their own versions of the recipe. Then save limoncello for somewhere using real Amalfi Coast lemons and try nocillo when you want something darker and nuttier after dinner. Concerto is the bottle I’d bring home though because everybody already knows limoncello.
Common questions
- What wine is Salerno known for?
- Expect lemon peel, white flowers, broom, herbs and a salty little edge in the whites, then sour cherry, blackberry, violet, pepper and darker earthy flavors from Tintore and Piedirosso. The really old Tramonti vines add another layer of concentration that makes these wines much more serious than the scenery might lead you to expect.
- What grapes are grown around Salerno?
- Tintore di Tramonti, Piedirosso, Falanghina, Biancolella, Ginestra, Pepella, Fenile, Ripolo.
- Why is Salerno a notable wine stop?
- Costa d’Amalfi DOC includes the Furore, Ravello and Tramonti subzones, and the area protects a collection of local grapes including Fenile, Ginestra, Pepella, Ripolo and Tintore. Tramonti is especially fascinating because producers are still working with very old pergola vines and pockets of ungrafted plant material.
- Is Salerno a wine destination?
- The obvious bottle is limoncello, but the one I really want you to try is Concerto. It comes from Tramonti and combines a whole pile of herbs and spices with coffee and barley, which sounds like somebody emptied an apothecary into a glass and somehow made it delicious. The traditional recipe uses around fifteen herbs and spices and has been passed through the area for generations.
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Nearby winery
Le Vigne di Raito
Local label terms, decoded
Inside the Salerno guide
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