When you come to Naples, prepare to fall in love with a perfume: that of freshly picked grapes. It is not the important wine of great expectations, it is the first greeting of the season: Novello wine.
Light, fruity, immediate.
It is the colour of spontaneous toasts among friends, the promise of evenings filled with the smell of wood, conversation and simple cuisine. In Naples, you can recognise it in the air: the bars fill up, the glasses sparkle, the dishes are heated.
It stems from an ancient idea and a modern technique: carbonic maceration. The whole grapes ferment in the absence of oxygen and release a fresh, lively bouquet with notes of strawberry, cherry and violet. It is a wine that is in no hurry to mature because it wants to be drunk immediately, when the days are getting shorter and autumn is truly in the air. In Campania, this “youthfulness” meets territories with a strong character: the volcanic soils of the Campi Flegrei, the hills of Sannio, the slopes of Irpinia. Here, the local grape varieties—Falanghina, Piedirosso, young Aglianico—speak the same language as the novello: freshness, fruitiness, conviviality.
Entering the Neapolitan scene at this time of year means finding it everywhere.
In the wine bars in the city centre, it is served at the right temperature, with a smile and a few words about the producer. In trattorias, it arrives alongside the flavours of autumn, as if it were an old friend returning to the city: rosemary-scented baked pumpkin, freshly roasted chestnuts, soft cheeses, and cured meats reminiscent of the Campania mountains. In pizzerias, you’ll find it alongside a seasonal pizza—pumpkin cream and provola cheese, wild mushrooms, sausage—where the fresh sip of the new wine lightens the palate and invites you to have seconds. It is a wine that loves company and simplicity: the more informal the table, the more fun it has.
And how is it celebrated in Naples? Naturally. The neighbourhoods come alive with small events, wine bars organise tasting evenings, the cellars of the Campi Flegrei open their doors, and restaurants play with autumn menus. It is not a complicated ritual: it is the joy of uncorking something that does not ask for permission. Novello is the toast that inaugurates the season of the here and now: a sip that tells the story of the newly born vintage, an invitation to enjoy the present.
If you are planning a day in Naples in November, imagine starting with a walk along the Caracciolo seafront, when the air is a little crisp and Vesuvius seems closer. Visit a local market—Pignasecca or Porta Nolana—and browse the autumn stalls: pumpkins, mushrooms, chestnuts. Have lunch in a trattoria in the historic centre with a plate of pasta and cocozza, then lose yourself in Spaccanapoli and Via Toledo until the light turns golden. In the evening, choose a wine bar or a signature pizzeria: ask for a Novello campano and try it with a pumpkin pizza or a mixed platter. Leave with warm cheeks and the idea that, sometimes, happiness is a small thing: a young glass of wine and a city that smiles at you.
Novello wine does not require analysis or difficult words. It requires presence. When you drink it in Naples, you understand why it is so popular here: it is a mirror of the city, direct, generous, capable of celebrating even without a reason. Tomorrow it will already be different; that is why today it is perfect.
