Campania
12 wines 
Tastings
Tours
Booking required
Wine area
Campi Flegrei
Naples' burning fields: a still-active volcanic caldera on the coast where vines grow on ungrafted, pre-phylloxera rootstock in pure black sand.
Cantine degli Astroni
Cantine degli Astroni is a family winery on the outer slopes of the Astroni crater in Naples. The crater, between Naples and Pozzuoli, is now a WWF nature reserve. The Varchetta family began trading wine in 1891 and founded the winery in 1999. Its vines grow in the volcanic soil of the Campi Flegrei, mostly the local Falanghina and Piedirosso grapes. Many of them still grow on their own roots, which is rare in Europe. Guided tours of the vineyard and cellar end with a tasting, from Monday to Saturday.
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Wines from Cantine degli Astroni
About Cantine degli Astroni
The Varchetta family has worked with wine in the Campi Flegrei for more than a century. Vincenzo Varchetta started a wine trading business in 1891. After the Second World War, Giovanni Varchetta, his wife Luisa and their ten children carried the business forward. In the early 1990s the family turned an old farmhouse on the slopes of the Astroni crater into a winery. Cantine Astroni followed in 1999, and the third and fourth generations run it today.
The Astroni crater sits between Naples and Pozzuoli. It was once a royal hunting ground of the Bourbon kings, and today it is a WWF nature reserve. The whole area is volcanic: the name Campi Flegrei comes from the Greek for "burning fields". The soil is loose sand, ash and small volcanic stones, poor in organic matter but rich in minerals. Its loose texture means many vines can grow on their own roots, which is rare in Europe. The sea close by keeps the grapes fresh.
The family farms four vineyards across the Campi Flegrei, together about the size of 14 football pitches. Vigna Astroni lies on the outer slopes of the crater, like the winery. Vigna Imperatrice grows Falanghina, and Tenuta Camaldoli grows Piedirosso on the southern side of the Camaldoli hill. Tenuta Jossa, on the same hill, grows Piedirosso, Sciascinoso, Falanghina and Fiano. Falanghina for white wine and Piedirosso for red are the two signature grapes of the Campi Flegrei DOC, created in 1994.
In the cellar, most of the wine ferments and rests in stainless steel, which keeps it fresh. A small part goes into clay amphorae or old oak barrels that add no oak flavour. Time in bottle matters too, and the wines gain depth as they wait. The main pair is Colle Imperatrice, a Falanghina, and Colle Rotondella, a Piedirosso. The single-vineyard wines include Vigna Astroni and Strione, both Falanghina, Tenuta Jossa, a white blend, and Tenuta Camaldoli, a Piedirosso Riserva. Astro is the sparkling line, and the family also makes wines from Vesuvius and the Sorrento peninsula.
Visits are by booking only, from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm. A tour starts with a walk through the vines to a viewpoint over the Astroni woods, with Vesuvius, Capri and Pozzuoli in the distance. It goes on through the cellar and past the tanks where the sparkling wine is made by the Charmat method, then ends with a tasting. Four set tours, with two to five wines, can be booked through Winedering or on the winery's website. The website also sells longer days that add the nearby Agnano spa, and a tour for children. There is free parking, and Naples airport is about 14 minutes away by car.
Plate I · CAMPANIA
Cantine degli Astroni on the Campania wine atlas
Winery
Cantine degli Astroni
Napoli · Campi Flegrei
Denominations Produced
Wine areaDOC
Grapes Used
Visit & Experiences
7 bookable experiences at Cantine degli Astroni
2 tastings and 5 tours, checked by our editors. From €20.
Tour
Tour Superior Crùs at Astroni Winery in Campi Flegrei, between Naples and Pozuoli
3h
From €50 per person
English · Italiano
The ultimate and most complete experience at Astroni!
Book this tour
via Winedering
Tour
Tour Crùs at Astroni Winery in Campi Flegrei, between Naples and Pozzuoli
2h 30
From €40 per person
English · Italiano
A more immersive experience to taste and live the world of Astroni Winery
Book this tour
via Winedering
Tour
Tour Phlegraios at Astroni Winery in Campi Flegrei, between Naples and Pozzuoli
2h
From €30 per person
English · Italiano
Tour in the vineyards and tasting of 3 different wines
Book this tour
via Winedering
Tour
Cantine Astroni Wine Tour in Campi Flegrei, between Naples and Pozzuoli
1h 30
From €20 per person
English · Italiano
The Astroni Winery today is not only the art of producing wine but also culture and hospitality.
Book this tour
via Winedering
Tasting & Tour
Wellness and Taste: tasting and the Agnano spa
About 4 hours
€70 per person
English, Italian
A guided tour and tasting at noon, Tuesday to Saturday, with three wines: the sparkling Falanghina Astro, Colle Imperatrice and Colle Rotondella. Cured meats, cheese and a first course or a slice of pizza come with them. Then an afternoon at the Terme di Agnano, with indoor and outdoor thermal pools and saunas. You make your own way to the spa, and it does not admit children under 14.
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on cantineastroni.com
Tasting & Tour
Oasis of the Senses: blind tasting and volcanic caves
About 5 hours
€85 per person
English, Italian
Arrive at noon, Tuesday to Saturday, for a tour of the vineyard, the cellar and the bottling line. A blind tasting of three wines follows, with small games for the nose, the palate and touch, plus finger food and a first course. At 3pm you move on to the Stufe di San Germano at the Terme di Agnano: old caves warmed by volcanic heat, an indoor pool and a garden. The spa admits over 18s only, and you make your own way there.
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on cantineastroni.com
Tour
Flegrella's Tour for children
2 hours
€25 per child
English, Italian
A two-hour visit for children, built on Flegrella, an illustrated science fairy tale about the Campi Flegrei. Children learn about volcanoes and vines through games for each of the five senses, then taste grape juice with a snack or a first course made for them. Start times are 10:30, 14:00 and 15:00, and it can be booked apart from the adult tours.
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on cantineastroni.com
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Via Sartania, 48, 80126 Napoli, Napoli (Campania)
What Cantine degli Astroni makes
Cantine degli Astroni's current bottle selection is easiest to understand through Falanghina and Piedirosso.
Key grapes
Common questions
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Yes, by booking. Guided tours run from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm, for groups of 1 to 40 people. Every tour walks the vineyard, visits the cellar and ends with a tasting. Four set tours can be booked through Winedering, and the winery's own website sells all of its tours.
Plan a visit
Ask us to arrange your visit to Cantine degli Astroni
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