Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is better known for its cliffs and lemons than its wine, but the steep terraces above the Tyrrhenian Sea have grown grapes for centuries. The Costa d'Amalfi DOC covers a small, dramatic zone in Campania where vineyards are cut into near-vertical slopes and often worked entirely by hand — some vines are old, ungrafted survivors of phylloxera.

The wines are almost all made from local Campanian grapes rather than international ones. Whites lean on Falanghina, Biancolella and Fiano; reds on Piedirosso and Aglianico. Tramonti, Furore and Ravello are the main sub-zones, and the wines tend to be fresh and saline — built for the coast's seafood.

Most visitors reach the area from Naples, Sorrento or Salerno. Wine here is a small-scale, artisanal affair — family cellars and terrace tastings with a sea view rather than large estates. Ravello and Tramonti make the best bases for the wine side of a visit, high enough to escape the worst of the coast-road traffic and close to the terraced cellars. Come in late spring or September, when the weather is warm, the sea is swimmable and the summer crush of day-trippers has eased; book winery visits ahead, since these are tiny family operations rather than walk-in tasting rooms. Use the guide below to plan which growers to visit and how to reach them.