Basilicata Potenza is the administrative center of Basilicata, whose other province is Matera. The region ranks 14th in size (9,992 square kilometers) and 18th in population (608,000). Vineyards cover 16,000 hectares, of which registered DOC plots total 1,450 hectares. Average annual wine production of 550,000 hectoliters (17th) includes 2.2% DOC, entirely red. Basilicata, also known as Lucania, is an often neglected region of arid hills and desolate mountains that can be bitterly cold for a southerly place. But the cool upland climate has its advantages for viticulture, in wines that can show enviable aromas and flavors. Basilicata has only one DOC in Aglianico del Vulture, but that, at least, gives the inhabitants a source of pride. One of southern Italy’s finest red wines, it is gradually gaining admirers elsewhere. The Aglianico vine—which is also the base of Campania’s vaunted Taurasi—was brought to Basilicata by the Greeks, perhaps as long ago as the 6th or 7th century BC. (Its name is a corruption of Hellenico). On the slopes of the extinct volcano known as Monte Vulture it makes a robust, deeply colored wine that from fine vintages can improve for many years, becoming increasingly refined and complex in flavor. There are also youthful versions of the wine, sometimes semisweet and even sparkling, but the dry vecchio or riserva, after aging in oak casks, rates the most serious consideration. Aglianico is also used for wines under the region’s single IGT of Basilicata, notably in the east around Matera, where reds from Sangiovese and Montepulciano also originate. White wines of interest are the sweet Moscato and Malvasia, the best of which come from the Vulture zone and the eastern Bradano valley.