APULICA / WINES

Aglianico del Vulture

DOC · DOCG · Wines · Basilicata

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked: 2026-10-11

In brief

The DOC covers a red and a sparkling red, both made only from Aglianico grapes. (Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture DOP)
The DOC red may be sold only from 1 September of the year after the harvest; the sparkling wine referments in the bottle for at least nine months. (Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture DOP)
The Superiore DOCG comes from fifteen Vulture municipalities in the province of Potenza, among them Rionero, Barile, Melfi, Venosa and Lavello. (Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOP)
The Superiore spends at least a year in wood and a year in bottle and is released from 1 November of the third year; the Riserva doubles the time in wood and comes out in the fifth year. (Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOP)

History and origin

In Basilicata the vine has very ancient origins, and its protagonist is Aglianico. According to Italy's national tourism portal it was probably introduced by the Greeks in the fifth century BC, and it has since found its ideal home around the Vulture and Venosa, birthplace of the Latin poet Horace.

Mount Vulture is an ancient extinct volcano, now a protected natural area covered with beech and conifer forests. Its soils, rich in clay and minerals, give the wine the character that has made it Basilicata's best-known.

The designation has two tiers, both entered in the European register of designations of origin: Aglianico del Vulture, a DOC with a red and a sparkling red, and Aglianico del Vulture Superiore, a DOCG that also includes the Riserva. A single consortium looks after them, based in Rionero in Vulture in the Palazzo Giustino Fortunato.

Sources: Italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) — Wine tour in Basilicata · eAmbrosia — Aglianico del Vulture (PDO-IT-A0222) · eAmbrosia — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore (PDO-IT-A0527) · Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture DOP

Area and method of production

Both designations are made only from Aglianico grapes, unblended. The DOC covers the territory of many municipalities in the province of Potenza and allows additional geographical mentions for the municipalities, hamlets or areas the grapes actually come from.

The Superiore DOCG has a precise area of fifteen municipalities: Rionero in Vulture, Barile, Rapolla, Ripacandida, Ginestra, Maschito, Forenza, Acerenza, Melfi, Atella, Venosa, Lavello, Palazzo San Gervasio, Banzi and Genzano di Lucania, excluding some hamlets of Atella. The label may carry the mention Vigna followed by the vineyard's name.

Timescales are long. The DOC red may not be sold before 1 September of the year after the harvest, and the sparkling red is made only by natural refermentation in the bottle, with at least nine months of processing. The Superiore ages at least twelve months in wood and twelve in bottle and is released from 1 November of the third year; the Riserva doubles the time in wood and comes out from the fifth year.

Sources: Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture DOP · Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOP

How to recognise it

The DOC red is a deep ruby colour. On the nose it opens with mineral notes, followed by blackberry and redcurrant, also as jam, juniper berries, tobacco and spice; in the mouth it is full, with velvety tannins and a long finish. The sparkling red is ruby shading to garnet, with orange tints as it ages, scents of wild flowers and fruit, and hints of red berries and spice.

The Superiore is an intense ruby red with garnet tints. The aroma moves from undergrowth to bark, with intense mulberry and blackberry fruit, notes of candied orange and spice; on the palate it is full and soft, elegant, with fruity, balsamic and mineral echoes and a long finish.

Italy's national tourism portal describes it as an enveloping, pleasantly spicy wine, even finer in the Superiore and Riserva versions.

Sources: Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture DOP · Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOP · Italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) — Wine tour in Basilicata

Where to taste it

The Vulture is the place to get to know this wine. In Venosa, considered one of Italy's most beautiful towns and Horace's birthplace, a tasting goes well with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum in the Pirro del Balzo castle, in the historic centre, and in the evening a glass of Aglianico accompanies life in the main square.

Nearby is Barile, with its characteristic wine cellars dug into the tuff, and along the road the outline of Mount Vulture rises, the ancient volcano with its forests. Rionero, Melfi, Lavello and Palazzo San Gervasio are other municipalities of the production area from which to start a route through the vineyards.

The national tourism portal also points to the welcome offered by the wineries of the Movimento Turismo del Vino, a chance to stroll among the vines and discover the history of Lucanian wines.

Sources: Italia.it (Ministero del Turismo) — Wine tour in Basilicata · Qualigeo — Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOP