Who owns Fiano? Nobody agrees
Friday 16 October is Fiano Day, (thanks to Corrina of Oliver's Taranga), so let's settle where this grape actually comes from. (But we won't!)
Campania, east of Naples, has the strongest claim. The hills around Avellino have grown Fiano for centuries, and Fiano di Avellino became a DOCG in 2003. The Romans possibly knew it as Vitis apiana, the vine of the bees, because bees swarm the sweet grapes. Nobody can prove that, but the bees still turn up uninvited around Avellino.
Puglia disagrees. Its historians point to medieval records of Fiano wine near Manfredonia, and Sicily grows plenty of it too. Some say the Greeks brought it in first, which would make every Italian a guest. Italians have argued about it for centuries, which is about the most Italian thing a grape can inspire. The bees have no opinion.
Italian Fiano and Australian Fiano
In Campania, Fiano grows on cool hillsides 400 to 700 metres up, in volcanic soil. It ripens slowly and holds high acid, with a smoky, stony edge. Give it five to ten years in the bottle and the citrus turns to honey, hazelnut and beeswax.
Australian Fiano grows in more sun, so it tends to be fruitier and rounder: lemon, melon and stone fruit, usually at 12.5 to 13.5% alcohol. Fiano is a flexible grape. When you pick it, what you ferment it in and what you do afterwards can change the wine dramatically. Think of it as a dial. At one end is crisp, fresh and citrusy. At the other is textural, where lees contact, old oak or clay amphora give a waxy, savoury, almond-meal feel on the mid-palate. McLaren Vale makes both, and everything in between.
How Fiano found McLaren Vale
The CSIRO brought Fiano cuttings into Australia in 1978, and for a long time nothing much happened. Then Mark Lloyd of Coriole tasted the Fianos of Campania on a 2000 trip to southern Italy, came home and planted it in 2001. Coriole released the first Australian Fiano from the 2005 vintage, and Oliver's Taranga, planting from 2004, soon followed.
It suits the region. Fiano has thick skins and loose bunches, handles heat and dry conditions, and keeps its acid when the weather gets warm. McLaren Vale has the sun, the Mediterranean climate and the drainage.
The numbers are still small. The region has about 7,400 hectares under vine, and Fiano is a little over 1% of it, against Shiraz at more than half. But 7 of the 34 hectares planted in 2023-24 were Fiano, more than 60 of Australia's 90-odd Fiano makers are based here, and the McLaren Vale Wine Show now has a class just for it.
The Vin Sōl Fiano: Flōrus
Flōrus comes from the Lacey vineyard on Olivers Road, 3 km north of McLaren Vale township, a block quickly building a name for quality. I'm still learning this vineyard and this variety, so the approach is simple: keep it clean and fresh and let the site do the talking. No funny business until I know more.
We pick at about 12.5 Baumé. The fruit is machine harvested in the morning, then crushed and destemmed straight into the press. The free run drains, the skins are pressed, and the pressings go back in with it. Flotation clears the juice until you can see through a glass, and it isn't filtered at this stage.
Fermentation uses ICV D47, usually a Chardonnay yeast, in small stainless steel tanks at around 12°C. Ferment health matters more than the number, so I watch for a drop of 0.5 to 1.0 Baumé a day. It goes to dryness, then is fined, filtered and bottled.
The 2025 Flōrus is 13.0% alcohol, pH 3.34, TA 6.03 g/L, with 1.70 g/L residual sugar. It's bright green-tinged straw, with lychee and fresh lemon, then melon peel, cucumber and fresh-cut lucerne hay. The palate is generous, vibrant and textured, finishing on lemon zest.
What to eat and what to listen to
Flōrus suits fresh seafood, grilled prawns, lemon-roasted chicken and Mediterranean vegetables. It also handles creamy pasta, burrata and lightly spiced dishes, where freshness and texture both matter.
Like every Vin Sōl wine, it has a soundtrack. Go for acoustic, indie folk or mellow jazz: Sunrise by Norah Jones, Regular Touch by Vera Blue, Bloom by The Paper Kites or Chateau by Angus & Julia Stone.
Try it
The 2025 Flōrus Fiano is in the Vin Sōl shop. Insiders get monthly deals and a standing offer on sixes and dozens. Join the Insiders list and open a bottle with us this Fiano Day.
