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The Coda di Volpe Grape


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About Coda di Volpe

(Synonyms: Durante, Falerno, Guaranaccia Bianca.)

Background

Map showing the Campania region of Italy

Coda di Volpe is a white-wine grape originating in the Campania region of Italy; its full name is Coda di Volpe Bianca, but just plain Coda di Volpe is the usual style. Today, its homeland of Campania remains virtually the only area in which it is grown.

Coda di Volpe is yet another grape long dismissed as minor but shooting into critical prominence in modern times. Typical well-made Coda di Volpe wines are of light to medium coloration, soft but full-bodied, and quite aromatic—anything from stone fruit to spices, plus minerality and even salinity (which helps the wine develop with aging). The palate is both fruit-laden and spice-layered, though of mild rather than sharp spice. While the grape is not inherently acidic, growing in the volcanic soils imparts extra acid into the wines, so that they are refreshing and well-balanced between acidity and fruitiness.

Coda di Volpe as a monovarietal typically comes from the Irpinia and Sannio DOCs of Campania, but is also prominent in the Vesuvio DOC, where it is a permitted grape in the well-known “Lacryma Christi” wine blends; we say blends, but while a Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio must contain at least 35% Coda di Volpe, many notable specimens are 100% Coda di Volpe.

(To give you an idea of how whacky and exacting wine laws can be, here are the specifications for Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio white wines—there are also reds, based on Piedirosso. They must be made up of at least 80% Coda di Volpe and/or Verdeca, with a 35% minimum of Coda di Volpe but with a maximum of 20% Falanghina and/or Greco.)

Factoid: One of its synonyms, Falerno, no doubt arose from a belief that this was the grape from which the storied Falernian wine of ancient Rome was made. (No one knows for sure, and several other grapes make the same claim.)

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Some Descriptions of Coda di Volpe Wines

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Some Coda di Volpes to Try

(About this list.)

The few decent Coda di Volpe bottlings on the U.S. retail market do not have wide availability, though they are not actually rare. Here is what we found.


La Rivolta Coda di Volpe
(Sannio Taburno)

• This wine’s Wine Searcher “Reviews” page.
• This wine’s CellarTracker review pages.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by Wine Searcher.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by 1000 Corks.



Vadiaperti Coda di Volpe
(Irpinia. This is not their “Torama” bottling.)

• This wine’s Wine Searcher “Reviews” page.
• This wine’s CellarTracker review pages.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by Wine Searcher.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by 1000 Corks.



Donnachiara Coda di Volpe Irpinia
(100% Coda di Volpe)

• This wine’s Wine Searcher “Reviews” page.
• This wine’s CellarTracker review pages.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by Wine Searcher.
• Retail offers of this wine listed by 1000 Corks.

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For a Splurge

We could find no reasonably available Coda di Volpe wines better enough than those listed above as to justify a “splurge” price.

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This page was last modified on Saturday, 30 October 2021, at 11:26 pm Pacific Time.