Tenuta Pietrafusa

Establishment in Irpinia — 2004

Tenuta Pietrafusa was inaugurated in 2004, when Maria Ida and Salvatore Avallone expanded the family’s viticultural project from the Ager Falernus into the province of Avellino. The new estate occupied the high-altitude vineyards of Irpinia, at the heart of the province’s DOCG districts, and introduced new vineyards, projects and wines intended to interpret a different part of Campania.

The estate’s initial releases were Daltavilla Greco di Tufo DOCG, Montelapio Fiano di Avellino DOCG and Fusonero Taurasi DOCG, all first produced in 2004. Their production zones extend across Altavilla Irpina, Tufo, Santa Paolina, Lapio, Montefalcione, Montemarano and Paternopoli.

Pietrafusa Taurasi — 2015

A second Taurasi, Pietrafusa, entered production with the 2015 vintage. It is associated directly with Tenuta di Pietrafusa and comes from Aglianico vineyards planted in different years between 1968 and 1985 at 350 metres above sea level.

Family continuity and present management

The estate remains within the Avallone family’s wine-growing business. Salvatore Avallone serves as company administrator and Maria Ida Avallone as partner. Their children represent the third generation in operational leadership: Maria Cristina De Simone Avallone is the oenologist and Head of Production, while Francesco Paolo Avallone leads international markets and marketing. Vineyard work, harvest and cellar operations are supported by teams of agronomists and oenologists.

The estate’s Greco, Fiano and Aglianico vineyards are managed through low-impact integrated pest management. Simple Guyot is the principal training system; the Greco vineyards also include cordone speronato. Planting densities range from 2,500 to 3,000 vines per hectare, and the directly associated Pietrafusa Aglianico vines carry approximately six buds per plant.

Harvest timing follows variety and site. Greco and Fiano are picked in the second ten days of October, while Aglianico is harvested in the third ten days of the month. Across the family production system, selection begins in the vineyard: only ripe, intact bunches are picked, sometimes through two or more passes through the same block. Grapes are harvested by hand into 18 kg crates, followed by a second quality check and sorting-table selection in the cellar.

Vineyard blocks within the wider holdings are often bordered by woodland, olive groves, arable land or pasture. Vegetated buffer strips are maintained beside protected areas without fertiliser or plant-protection treatments. The sustainability management system provides for periodic biodiversity measurement in water, air and soil using the updated Biodiversity Friend methodology. It is structured around Equalitas requirements and includes documented self-control procedures, supplier assessment, internal audits, management review, continuing training, corrective and preventive measures, traceability and analytical-control plans. Completion of the certification process was still pending in June 2025.

Grape reception and control

Grapes are harvested by hand into 18 kg crates after initial selection in the vineyard. A second quality assessment and sorting-table selection take place on arrival. An in-house laboratory follows the process from grape analysis through fermentation, maturation and bottling. Analytical results also support weekly tastings used to monitor each wine’s development.

White-wine production

Greco is vinified as a white wine through gentle pressing and cold settling. Fiano undergoes cryomaceration at 5°C to increase aromatic and structural extraction, followed by gentle pressing and cold settling. Both are matured in stainless steel for approximately four months.

Aglianico and Taurasi production

Aglianico is destemmed and crushed before pre-fermentation cold maceration. Fermentation proceeds at 26°C, with skin contact lasting more than 20 days and including numerous pump-overs and délestages. Alcoholic fermentation is followed by malolactic fermentation in traditional oak vessels.

For one Taurasi expression, maturation takes place in 35 hl oak casks and barriques for 18 months, followed by another 12 months in bottle. The Pietrafusa expression matures for 12 months, half in small Allier-oak barrels and half in large Slavonian-oak casks, before an extended period of bottle ageing.

Within the wider production system, vinification is conducted almost entirely in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, with automated processes assisting control of alcoholic fermentation and maceration. Red wines are matured in wood according to wine type and vintage, including 225-litre French-oak barriques and large French- and Slavonian-oak casks.