Falanghina

Falanghina is a dry, fresh white from Campania in southern Italy, known for crisp lemon, green apple and pear with white flowers, herbs and a mineral edge. Bright, citrusy and made for Mediterranean food, it’s brilliant with prawns, grilled fish, seafood pasta, pizza, roast chicken and fresh tomato dishes.

Taste:

Fresh, citrusy and bringing plenty of southern Italian sunshine with it.

Falanghina is typically dry and light to medium-bodied, with bright acidity and flavours of lemon, green apple, pear and sometimes white peach. Expect floral aromas alongside fresh herbs and a subtle mineral or saline character.

Some examples bring slightly richer stone-fruit flavours, while a gentle almond note can appear on the finish.

It's crisp enough to be seriously refreshing but has enough texture and flavour to avoid disappearing the second food arrives.

Basically, Falanghina understood that "easy-drinking" and "interesting" aren't mutually exclusive.

Food Pairings:

Falanghina and Mediterranean food are extremely good company.

For seafood, try prawns, mussels, crab, calamari, grilled fish, sea bass, cod or sea bream. Seafood pasta, prawn linguine, spaghetti alle vongole and garlic prawns are excellent matches too.

It's also brilliant with pizza, particularly Margherita, seafood pizza, vegetable pizza or pizza topped with mozzarella and fresh herbs.

For meat, try roast chicken, grilled chicken or chicken dishes with lemon, garlic and herbs.

Fresh tomato dishes work beautifully, including tomato and mozzarella salad, bruschetta and light tomato pasta. Pesto pasta, grilled courgette, roasted vegetables and fresh salads are great options too.

Falanghina's acidity also works well with fried food such as calamari and arancini.

For cheese, try mozzarella, ricotta, goat's cheese or Parmesan.

Similar Wines:

If you enjoy Falanghina, Greco di Tufo is an obvious next stop for another fresh, mineral white from Campania.

Fiano di Avellino comes from the same part of Italy but tends to bring more body, texture and nutty complexity.

Vermentino is worth exploring if citrus, herbs and Mediterranean freshness are what you love, while Verdicchio offers another crisp Italian white with plenty of acidity and character.

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More About Falanghina:

Falanghina is an ancient white grape associated with Campania in southern Italy, particularly areas around Naples, Benevento and the volcanic landscapes north of the city.

You'll sometimes see references to different Falanghina types, particularly Falanghina Flegrea and Falanghina Beneventana, reflecting distinct biotypes grown within the region.

The grape thrives in Campania's warm Mediterranean climate while retaining the acidity that gives its wines their trademark freshness.

Its history is often linked – sometimes a little enthusiastically – with wines made in Roman times. The exact ancient family tree is considerably harder to prove.

Two thousand years of potential history and still less famous than Pinot Grigio.

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