The Alois family, old nobility in Campania, are the impetus behind Donna Paolina, which they founded in 2011 with the help of enologist Carmine Valentino and grower/winemaker Gerardo Contrada. Michele Alois, storied winemaker of indigenous Campania varietals like pallagrello and casavecchia, wanted to add a fiano and greco to the list, and so began the Donna Paolina collaboration.

​

Gerardo grows the grapes and makes the wines alongside Carmine, and their greco comes from a single vineyard site in the hills around the tiny village of Santa Paolina, thus the label's name. Greco is an ancient grape, claimed, as the name implies, to be brought to southern Italy by the first Greek settlers. Greco di Tufo was made into a DOCG in 2003 (after gaining DOC status in 1970) and has become one of the premier locations for white wine in all of Italy.

​

This 2019 has flinty reduction on the nose, super floral aromatics, underlying asian pear, and a mineral, chalky-dry finish. Great with shellfish of all types, and spaghetti alle vongole.