Greco di Tufo is one of the three DOCG wines of Irpinia, recognised in 2003, and it is a white. It is made in eight villages along the Sabato valley, with vines between 300 and 650 metres: Tufo, Altavilla Irpina, Chianche, Montefusco, Petruro Irpino, Santa Paolina, Torrioni and Prata di Principato Ultra. Sleeping at the Balconcino means sleeping inside the appellation: the nearest winery is five kilometres away, the farthest in this guide twenty minutes.
One rule applies to all of them: you book. Irpinian wineries are family businesses or mid-sized estates, not visitor centres with continuous opening hours. A phone call or an email one or two days ahead is almost always enough; during the harvest, between September and October, some suspend visits. Tasting prices are something you ask them directly.
Tufo, 5 kilometres
Tufo gives the wine its name and is the village of the sulphur mines, active from 1866 to the 1950s. The wineries sit along the main road and in the surrounding hamlets.
- Cantine di Marzo (SS 371, tel. +39 0825 998022, cantinedimarzo.it): the oldest Greco winery. Visit and tasting by appointment all year except during the harvest, also in English.
- Cantine dell’Angelo (via Santa Lucia, tel. +39 0825 998073, cantinedellangelo.com): a walk through the vines above the old sulphur mines, then the cellar and three glasses; about two hours.
- Benito Ferrara (San Paolo hamlet, tel. +39 0825 998194, benitoferrara.com): the estate of the Vigna Cicogna cru, with tastings and direct sales; ask for opening times.
Santa Paolina and Montefusco, 6 and 8 kilometres
Ten minutes of road between the rows lead to Santa Paolina and then to Montefusco, the panoramic village of the Greco with its Bourbon prison and Capuchin convent.
- Cantina dei Monaci (Santa Paolina): a family estate since 1995, tasting of about an hour and a half.
- Feudo di Castelmozzo (Santa Paolina): a cellar experience of about an hour, with the option of adding lunch.
- Terredora di Paolo (Montefusco, via Serra, tel. +39 0825 968215, terredora.com): phone ahead for visits.
- Podere Melone (Montefusco): vineyard walk and tasting of about an hour.
Nearby: Altavilla, Montefalcione, Atripalda, Lapio, Sorbo Serpico
Widening the radius to twenty minutes brings in other appellations: Fiano di Avellino, also made in Pratola Serra, Montefalcione, Atripalda and Lapio, and Taurasi, the Aglianico of the hills along the Calore river.
- Petilia (Altavilla Irpina, contrada Pincera, aziendaagricolapetilia.it): contacts and visits on request.
- Donnachiara (Montefalcione, via Stazione, donnachiara.com): visits to be arranged.
- Mastroberardino (Atripalda, via Manfredi): the historic winery of Irpinia; tour and tasting of about 90 minutes by appointment.
- Colli di Lapio (Lapio, tel. +39 0825 982184, collidilapio.it): Clelia Romano’s estate, a reference for Fiano.
- Feudi di San Gregorio (Sorbo Serpico, about 18 km, tel. +39 0825 986683, feudi.it): visits by appointment lasting thirty to ninety minutes; the estate also has the Marennà restaurant.
A typical afternoon
Two wineries are enough. Leave after lunch for Tufo, for the walk among the vines and the first tasting, then climb to Montefusco for the second, around five, and for the sunset over the valley. You are back in Prata in a quarter of an hour. Whoever drives tastes little: the wineries sell bottles, and the balcony at home is the right place to open one in the evening.
Wine events
Cantine Aperte, the open-cellars weekend of the Wine Tourism Movement, falls on the last weekend of May and in 2026 took place on 30 and 31 May. In Torrioni, in mid-July, the fusillo, porchetta and Greco di Tufo festival reached its thirty-fourth edition in 2026. The Tufo Greco Festival fills the centre of Tufo in the first days of September and has a “winter edition” in December. Lapio’s Fiano Love Fest and Taurasi’s Calici di Stelle were held in early August 2026. Check the current year’s dates with the organisers.
Why sleep in Prata
Because you stay inside the production area without staying inside a winery: the village has a café, a bakery and local shops a few steps away, parking is free in the streets around the square and any Greco winery is a quarter of an hour away. The house is a studio for two with a kitchen, handy for dinner when you come back with a bottle and something bought in the village.
Quick questions
Do I need to book?
Almost always, yes. Call or write one or two days ahead; during the harvest some wineries do not receive visitors.
Are visits available in English?
Several wineries offer them; Cantine di Marzo states it explicitly. Ask when you book.
How long does a visit take?
From one to two hours, depending on whether there is a vineyard walk. Two wineries in an afternoon is a good pace.
Can I go without a car?
The wineries are in the countryside and buses do not serve them: without a car, arrange a taxi or transfer with the winery, or pick the Tufo wineries and hire a car.
Opening hours, fares and access can change: check the official websites before setting off. .