On Ischia, the green island of the Mediterranean, the grape varieties grown are the indigenous ones. Among the whites, Biancolella and Forastera reign supreme, the latter blatantly “foreign,” but adopted by the island for centuries, as Antonella Amodio recounts.
Ischia is the volcanic island of the Mediterranean, a cradle of biodiversity, a true natural laboratory within the Tyrrhenian Sea, with rich and dense vegetation. È the largest of the islands in the Campi Flegrei archipelago and is also unique in the seabed, where forests of gorgonians and red coral enrich the extensive heritage of the mainland.
In this context, grape varieties also play their part, telling a story of endurance, adaptation and mystery. Among them is the Forastera, a white grape, a name that in itself already recalls a foreign past. Yet today it is a symbol of the island’s oenological identity, alongside the famous Biancolella.
A name, a destiny: the “stranger” of Ischia and its history
The term Forastera is derived from the Latin forasterus, or foreign, suggesting that this grape variety is not native to the island, but probably imported from the mainland, from somewhere else in the Mediterranean. It was first historically attested in 1877, thanks to Piedmontese oenologist Giuseppe di Rovasenda, who documented its cultivation on the island in his ampelographic catalog. Since then it was considered non-native, but well established in Ischia’s terraced vineyards.
With the devastating arrival of phylloxera, Forastera proved valuable in rebuilding Ischia’s vineyards, adapting well to grafting on American rootstocks, resistant to the pest, and thus finding new life precisely because of its ability to cope with and overcome a dramatic moment in European viticulture.
A bounded spread
Today, Forastera is cultivated almost exclusively on Ischia, with marginal presences on Procida, in some coastal areas of Campania and a small percentage in Sardinia. Its vines climb dry stone walls and tuff tops, withstand the brackish wind, the sun, and the wine that comes from its volcanic soils carries the very breath of the island in the glass: a sip of history, sea and myth.
According to Greek legend, Ischia arose when Zeus defeated and imprisoned the giant Typhoeus under the island: the volcanic tremors would be his breaths, his attempts to free himself from the rock. In a way, Forastera resembles Typhoeus: it resists, adapts, survives adversity and, like Biancolella, has become a symbol of Ischia’s heroic viticulture.
A difficult grape variety, but capable of excelling
Difficult to cultivate, so much so that the Agricultural Institute of Portici recommended its explantation soon after a remedy for cryptogam was found, but in the meantime the vine had alligned and today produces valuable wines. Yields are often inconstant, and the grape requires special attention. For this reason, it is frequently used in blends with other grape varieties, but some producers vinify it on its own, with surprising results, offering a sensory profile reminiscent of the green nature of the island and the brackish notes of the sea. The acidity and savoriness then make it strategic in pairings with the typical cuisine of Campania.
Four wineries symbolic of Ischia’s wine identity
Forastera is at the center of the vision of some of Ischia’s most representative wineries. We have selected four labels, including pure versions and blends with local grapes, that tell the story of the strength and finesse of this grape variety.
Ischia Bianco Forastera 2024 Cenatiempo
Score: 93/100
Average price in wine shop: € 20
100% Forastera from terraced vineyards in impervious areas. Stainless steel. Straw yellow, bright. Aromas of citrus and lodgepole pine. Ample, savory and fresh sip. Very persistent.
Ischia Bianco Forastera 2024 Casa d’Ambra
Score: 92/100
Average price in wine shop: € 14
100% Forastera, from vineyards in Forio, Lacco Ameno and Serrara Fontana. Stainless steel. Straw yellow. Olfactory profile of white-fleshed fruit and herbs. The palate is fresh, streamlined and with a marine finish.
Ischia Bianco Forastera 2023 Antonio Mazzella
Score: 93/100
Average price in wine shop: € 15
85% Forastera,15% Uva Rilla, Coglionara and Caca Mosca, raised in Grotta di Terra, 200 meters above sea level. Stainless steel. Straw yellow. Purely Mediterranean scents and smoky nuances. The acidity leaps to the palate. Broad, saline and long.
Ischia Bianco Forastera 2024 Tommasone
Score: 93/100
Average price in wine shop: € 16 Q/P
100% Forastera grown in the municipality of Forio, at Pennanova and Chiena. Stainless steel. Straw yellow, bright. Nose of yellow fruit and hints of rosemary. Solid body, the palate is fresh, broad and briny.
