Wine route
Strada del Vino del Molise
1 day, 70 km loop · 6 stops
Open the driveMolise · DOC
Biferno DOC Molise's Montepulciano Red from the Adriatic Hills
Biferno is Molise's coastal red: Montepulciano with a dash of Aglianico, grown on the hills between Campobasso and the Adriatic. The Rosso is dark, soft and velvety, made to drink young. A Riserva waits three years by law and turns garnet and savoury. There is a Rosato and a Trebbiano-based Bianco too.
5
Wines live now
£11-£21
Price range today
5
UK retailers
Decode the label
What the label tells you
One denomination, 5 things it can say on the front. Colour first, then the qualifier.
On the label
Biferno Rosso
the everyday red of the Molise coast
70 to 80% Montepulciano with 10 to 20% Aglianico
11.5% minimum alcohol
No ageing rule but the vintage must be on the label
Ruby, dry and velvety by law: blackberry and plum in the glass, soft tannin, ready young.
In stock from £10.57 See the 3 bottles ↓On the label
Biferno Rosso Superiore
a smaller crop, a degree more
12.5% minimum alcohol
12.5 t/ha against 14 for the other types
Same blend from a tighter crop, and a full degree stronger by law. Glass bottles only.
No bottles in stock right now
On the label
Biferno Rosso Riserva
three years' patience, 13% or more
3 years from 1 November of the harvest year
13% minimum alcohol
The wait turns the ruby to garnet and adds a savoury, leathery note. Glass bottles only.
In stock from £10.75 See the 2 bottles ↓On the label
Biferno Rosato
the same grapes, picked for freshness
Montepulciano and Aglianico the red blend, pressed pink
11.5% minimum alcohol
Delicate, fruity and dry in the rulebook's own words.
No bottles in stock right now
On the label
Biferno Bianco
Trebbiano from hills up to 600 metres
70 to 80% Trebbiano Toscano other Molise whites make up the rest
10.5% minimum alcohol
Straw yellow with a green glint, lightly aromatic and dry.
No bottles in stock right now
The boundary
Where it is
Everything on this page, the estates, the bottles, the sub-zones, sits inside this line.
Estate 1
Cantine Borgo di Colloredo
Visit →Campomarino
Visits by arrangement
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 2
Catabbo
Visit →San Martino in Pensilis · Lower Biferno hills
Book online
Denomination
Grapes Used
Estate 3
Terresacre
Visit →Montenero di Bisaccia · Coastal hills
Tastings available
Denomination
Grapes Used
Biferno DOC zone
Estates you can visit Wine route in the zoneOutside the zone
The hills of lower and middle Molise, in the province of Campobasso only. The zone follows the Biferno river from the regional capital down to the Adriatic at Termoli and Campomarino. From there it runs north along the coast to Petacciato and Montenero di Bisaccia. Southwards it reaches the Puglia border at San Martino in Pensilis and Ururi. Forty-two towns and villages qualify, but only their hillsides count: the rulebook stops red vineyards at 500 metres and whites at 600. The best-known estates sit on the coastal strip around Campomarino and Portocannone, where clay and sandy soils face the sea.
Inside the zone
42
Towns and villages
1
Province, Campobasso
500 m
Vineyard ceiling for reds
1983
DOC since
48 ha
Vineyard area, 2021
14 t/ha
Maximum yield
Click or tap a pin for its estate. The numbered pins match the estate cards below.
Towns worth knowing
Termoli
Campomarino
Portocannone
Guglionesi
Larino
Montenero di Bisaccia
San Martino in Pensilis
Campobasso
Campomarino and Portocannone hold the estates most UK buyers meet; Campobasso, the regional capital, is the inland edge of the zone.
In the glass
What it tastes like
Leather
Blackberry
Blueberry
Violet
Black cherry
Black pepper
Plum
Smoked meat
The disciplinare
The rules that define it
The same table on every denomination page, one row group per style here, because Biferno writes its rules per colour.
Grape & its role
Share of the blend
050100%
Rosso, Rosato, Superiore and Riserva
MontepulcianoThe backbone70 to 80%AglianicoCompulsory partner10 to 20%Other red grapes of MoliseNon-aromatic onlyup to 20%
Bianco
Trebbiano ToscanoThe base70 to 80%Other white grapes of MoliseMust make up the rest20 to 30%Solid means the rules demand it. Striped means optional, up to that amount. The words on the right say the same rule.
The blend is fixed in both directions Montepulciano 70 to 80 per cent and Aglianico 10 to 20, so neither grape can be left out.
Hills only, and not too high vineyards stop at 500 metres for the reds and 600 for the white.
Riserva waits three years counted from 1 November after the harvest, at 13 per cent or more, in glass only.
The vintage must be on the label every bottle, base Rosso included.
Up to 14 tonnes a hectare 12.5 for the Superiore, and only 70 per cent of the grapes may become wine.
Ageing and alcohol minimums per tier are in the label guide above.
Editor's cellar
Bottles to try, and what Biferno costs in the UK
Every live Biferno listing, cheapest to dearest
5 wines · 5 retailers
Live prices, compared across 5 UK retailers.
Cellar doors · inside the zone
Estates you can visit
Three estates inside the zone open their doors today. A small list, honestly kept: only working cellars with confirmed visits appear here.
Only show
No estates match these filters. Clear a filter to see more.
Experiences in the Biferno zone
Cellar experiences here average around €47. These are the strongest fits for this page.
Tasting
The Treasures of San Martino at Cantine Catabbo
Catabbo
Three Tintilia Wines paired with local flavours!
1 h 30 From €40 pp
Book via
Winedering
Tasting
Trilogy - A Journey Through the Colors of Wine at Cantine Catabbo in Molise
Catabbo
Discover the essence of Molise at Cantine Catabbo, where fine wines and local flavors come together in a serene countryside setting.
1 h 1 From €35 pp
Book via
Winedering
Tasting
The nuances of Tintilia at Cantine Catabbo in Molise
Catabbo
A taste of Tintilia and local traditions
2 h From €65 pp
Book via
Winedering
Vintage provenance
Why there is no vintage chart
No denomination-wide vintage chart is published for Biferno. The sources that cover it set out the rules and score individual wines, so quality is tracked producer by producer rather than year by year.
Buy the Rosso young, within three or four years of the vintage on the label. A Riserva has already waited three years and Borgo di Colloredo rates its own for ten.
What to check instead
The producer: quality here is tracked estate by estate rather than year by year.
How Biferno is made
Every red and pink Biferno starts from the same vineyard mix: 70 to 80 per cent Montepulciano and 10 to 20 per cent Aglianico. Up to 20 per cent of other non-aromatic red grapes grown in Molise may join them. The Bianco is 70 to 80 per cent Trebbiano Toscano, topped up with other local whites. Vines must sit on hillsides no higher than 500 metres for the reds and 600 for the white. The crop is capped at 14 tonnes a hectare, 12.5 for the Superiore, and only 70 per cent of the grapes may become wine. The base Rosso has no ageing rule. The Riserva must wait at least three years from 1 November of the harvest year and reach 13 per cent alcohol. The other minimums are 11.5 per cent for Rosso and Rosato, 12.5 for Superiore and 10.5 for Bianco. The vintage goes on every label, and Riserva and Superiore ship in glass only.
In depth
Molise only became a region of its own in 1963, after separating from Abruzzo, and Biferno was one of its first two DOCs, recognised in 1983 alongside Pentro di Isernia. The name is the river's: the Biferno is the largest river in Molise, and the zone follows it from Campobasso to the sea at Termoli.
The rulebook itself tells the older story. In Greek times the local wine was known as Paetrutianum, and Pliny praised a local vine called pumula. In 1836 Giuseppe del Re counted about 4,000 hectares of vines, nearly all on hills. In 1892 a workers' society at Ferrazzano, founded by Angelantuono Baranello, set out to improve local farming.
Today the DOC is small. Italian Wine Central records 48 hectares in 2021 and an average of roughly 390,000 bottles a year. The land is gentle: clay and sandy hills on the coastal strip between Montenero di Bisaccia, Guglionesi and Ururi. Most of the rain falls in autumn and winter, and the yearly average temperature sits between 13.5 and 14.8 degrees.
Two estates at Campomarino carry the name abroad. Di Majo Norante has made wine there since the nineteenth century, on 123 hectares of the old Norante di Santa Cristina fief. Its Ramitello vineyard sits at 100 metres on loose, partly sandy soil. Borgo di Colloredo picks its Gironia Riserva in the second week of October from clay slopes at 100 to 120 metres. It then gives the wine two years in oak, which the law does not ask for at all. Tenimenti Grieco at Portocannone and Catabbo at San Martino in Pensilis complete the coastal group. The rulebook describes the Rosso as ruby, dry and velvety, turning garnet and ethereal with age. Borgo di Colloredo's own note for its Riserva reads black cherry, plum, sweet spice and liquorice.
On the table
What to eat with Biferno
Lamb, pork and sheep's cheese are the Rosso's natural company; Molise's cavatelli and pampanella sit right beside it, and the Bianco takes the Termoli fish stew.
In-depth guide
Biferno, answered
Biferno is a DOC from Molise, on Italy's Adriatic coast just south of Abruzzo. The red and the rosé are Montepulciano blended with Aglianico; the white is based on Trebbiano Toscano. It takes its name from the Biferno river, the largest in the region.
By law 70 to 80 per cent Montepulciano and 10 to 20 per cent Aglianico, with up to 20 per cent of other non-aromatic red grapes grown in Molise. The same mix makes the Rosato, the Superiore and the Riserva.
At least three years, counted from 1 November of the harvest year, and it must reach 13 per cent alcohol. The base Rosso has no ageing rule at all, and no type has to see oak.
Dark ruby, dry and velvety, with blackberry and plum fruit and soft tannin. The rulebook itself calls it velvety and properly tannic. A Riserva turns garnet and picks up a savoury, leathery edge.
Lamb, pork and sheep's cheese. In Molise that means cavatelli, pampanella (pork roasted with chilli) and lamb with cheese and egg. The Rosso's soft tannin and dark fruit suit them all, and the Bianco takes the fish stew of Termoli.
In 42 towns and villages of the province of Campobasso, on hills below 500 metres. The zone runs from the regional capital down the Biferno valley to Termoli, then along the coast to the Puglia border. The best-known estates sit around Campomarino and Portocannone, a few miles from the sea.
No, but they are close cousins. Both are Montepulciano-led reds from the Adriatic side of the Apennines. Biferno adds a compulsory share of Aglianico and comes from the Molise coast, one region to the south.
It is one of the cheaper Italian DOC reds on UK shelves. At the time of writing the bottles listed here run from about £10 to £21, with the Riserva often costing little more than the Rosso.
Explore more Molise
Same region only: the denominations Biferno drinkers reach for next.
