“A truly groundbreaking volume, accompanying the reader to the vineyards and wineries of southern Italy, some already familiar but many of which are as yet barely known outside their localities. Ten years in the making, the text is illustrated with user-friendly maps and photographs that bring the reader on the journey. This is both a quality reference book and a deeply personal testimony to the merits of the wines of this varied and still largely underappreciated viticultural area.”

—Keith Bailey, DipWSET

Maria Christina Liotta

Maria has spent over 20 years exploring the winegrowing areas of southern Italy. She has walked the vineyards, tasted the wines, and met with winemakers in every one of the 65 DOP appellations in Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, and Puglia. Her passion for these four very special regions of Italy and her own southern Italian heritage inspired Places of Origin: Wines of Southern Italy—Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia.

A resident New Yorker, Maria is a veteran Wall Street analyst and fund manager in the healthcare sector. During her career, she became an avid wine collector and went on to earn designations as Italian Wine Scholar with highest honors from the Wine Scholar Guild, advanced level certification from the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust, and Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators. She is also a four-time recipient of the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for her work at La Villetta Restaurant in Manhattan. Her professional life began in healthcare as a Doctor of Optometry. Maria holds a B.S. degree in Biology and Psychology with high honors from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.B.A. from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, and a B.S. in Optical Science and O.D. with clinical honors from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia.

  • Sheshë, caves dug from volcanic tuff during Medieval period (Barile, Basilicata)

    Sheshë, caves dug from volcanic tuff during Medieval period (Barile, Basilicata)

  • Cattolica di Stilo (c. 9th century), located in the Bivongi appellation (Stilo, Calabria)

    Cattolica di Stilo (c. 9th century), located in the Bivongi appellation (Stilo, Calabria)

  • Beach along the Gulf of Squillace (Calabria)

    Beach along the Gulf of Squillace (Calabria)

  • Mount Somma-Vesuvius (Naples, Campania)

    Mount Somma-Vesuvius (Naples, Campania)

  • Mount Epomeo, volcanic centerpiece of the island of Ischia (Campania)

    Mount Epomeo, volcanic centerpiece of the island of Ischia (Campania)

  • Conti Zecca Rosso di Saraceno 1922, the first wine bottled in Puglia (Leverano, Puglia)

    Conti Zecca Rosso di Saraceno 1922, the first wine bottled in Puglia (Leverano, Puglia)

  • Piedirosso grapes, Cantine Olivella estate (Mount Somma-Vesuvius, Campania)

    Piedirosso grapes, Cantine Olivella estate (Mount Somma-Vesuvius, Campania)