Most people planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast have their sights set on Positano’s pastel buildings and Amalfi’s cathedral square. But the real wine story happens in the hills behind them — in towns like Furore and Tramonti, where vineyards cling to cliffs and winemakers have been working the same terraces for generations. I spent a week tracing those lesser-known wine routes, and what I found was a version of the coast that feels a world away from the ferry crowds.
Americans are increasingly bypassing the Amalfi Coast for quieter regions. Peak summer travel share among affluent US visitors to Europe dropped from 47% in 2023 to 40% in 2025.
That shift matches what I found when I went looking for the towns most travelers skip. The wine regions that sit just inland from the coast — and further south in Cilento, Basilicata, and Molise — are seeing more visitors every year, but they’re still quiet enough that you can show up at a tasting room without a reservation and actually talk to the winemaker.
The Amalfi Coast runs about 34 miles of coastline in Campania, and its DOC status dates back to 1995, covering red, white, and rosé wines made from indigenous grapes like Tintore, Piedirosso, Aglianico, Fiano, and Greco. But most visitors never see the vineyards — because the vineyards aren’t on the coast. They’re up in the hills, where the land is steep enough that workers have to manage the canopy and harvest by hand on terraces with drops over 2,000 feet.
If you’re a wine drinker visiting the Amalfi Coast, the towns worth your time aren’t the ones on the ferry route. Head inland to Furore, Tramonti, and Ravello, or drive two hours south to Cilento. That’s where the grapes actually grow, where the tasting rooms are run by the people who harvest them, and where you won’t be fighting for a seat at the bar.
Here’s a closer look at the towns that made the biggest impression on me — and what you need to know to plan your own wine crawl through them.
Furore: Where the Vineyards Hang Over the Sea
Furore is one of those towns you probably drove past on the way to somewhere else — if you noticed it at all. Its famous fjord gets the photo stops, but the wine story is up the hill at Marisa Cuomo Winery, one of the most distinctive producers on the coast. The winery produces about a dozen wines, with the Furore Bianco Fiorduva as its flagship — a blend of indigenous grapes Fenile, Ripoli, and Ginestra, grown on limestone pergola and aged in oak barrique.
If you want to actually walk through the vineyards rather than just taste at a bar, the Furore Vertical Vineyards Walking Tour on GetYourGuide is a private hiking and wine experience that gets you into the terraces most visitors never reach. The tour runs about 4 hours and includes a tasting of the winery’s wines, with the terraced cliffs as your backdrop.
Tramonti: The Hillside DOC You’ve Never Heard Of
Tramonti sits inland from Maiori, tucked into the Lattari Mountains, and it’s one of three villages the Amalfi Coast DOC specifically highlights for wine quality — alongside Furore and Ravello. The grapes here include Tintore, Piedirosso, Aglianico, Fiano, and Greco, and the wines carry the Costa d’Amalfi DOC label. Tenuta San Francesco runs a 2-hour tasting that covers three Amalfi Coast DOC wines from Tramonti, paired with panzanella, pane biscottato, tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, aged cheeses, and cured meats. It’s the kind of meal that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with restaurant reservations.
You can reach Tramonti from Maiori via the SITA bus, but a car or driver makes the hillside wineries much easier to visit. The Tenuta San Francesco Wine Tasting on Viator includes food pairings that double as lunch — the panzanella and local cheeses are substantial enough that you won’t need another meal afterward.
Ravello’s Wine Bars and Cellar Doors
Ravello gets more visitors than Furore or Tramonti, but most come for the gardens and the views, not the wine. That’s a missed opportunity, because Ravello has a handful of wine bars and tasting rooms that focus on local producers. Enotavola Wine Bar, Babel Wine Bar Deli & Art, and Wine & Drugs all pour wines from Ravello and Tramonti. For a more structured experience, Casa Vinicola Ettore Sammarco offers tastings of local whites, rosatos, and reds, plus grappa and cream liqueurs. And if you want to go all out, Palazzo Avino runs a “Journey into Memory” tasting of Campanian wines, while Hotel Villa Cimbrone’s Il Flauto di Pan serves a ten-course menu paired to regional wines, including a volcanic-sparkling from Mt. Vesuvius.
Ravello’s wine bars are walk-in friendly, but the tasting experiences at Palazzo Avino and Villa Cimbrone require reservations. Plan at least a few days ahead during summer.
Beyond the Coast: Cilento, Basilicata, and Molise
The wine crawl doesn’t have to stop at the Amalfi Coast. Drive two hours south and you’re in Cilento, a region with lighter traffic, Greek temples at Paestum, and wineries like San Salvatore 1988, which runs a winery and buffalo farm inside Cilento National Park. The nearby Tre Olivi restaurant holds a Michelin star and serves farm produce from the surrounding land. It’s a quieter, slower version of the same coastline — and the wine is excellent.
Further inland, Basilicata — the region around Matera — offers wine experiences at places like Masseria Cardillo, an 18th-century granary turned 10-room relais that produces Primitivo and Aglianico del Vulture. And then there’s Molise, one of Italy’s least-visited regions, where Di Majo Norante has been making wine since the 19th century using organic farming and native grapes like tintilia. International arrivals to Molise were up over 13% in early 2026, and Basilicata was up nearly 12% — numbers that suggest travelers are already catching on.
Increase in international arrivals to Molise (early 2026), with Basilicata up nearly 12%
Food Drink Life
Why the Side Roads Matter More Than Ever
Italian agriturismo is a $2.2 billion industry with over 26,000 working estates, and in 2024 those estates hosted 4.7 million guests, 62% of whom were foreign overnight visitors. The infrastructure for wine tourism is already there — you just have to know where to look. And with Americans spending over $7 billion in Italy in 2025, up 3.4% from the year before, and booking 12% more nights, the trend toward longer, deeper trips is clear. The towns most travelers never bother with aren’t hard to reach. They’re just easy to overlook when you’re focused on the famous names. But if you’re willing to take the winding road inland or drive a couple hours south, you’ll find a wine crawl that feels like it belongs to you — not to the crowd.
If you’re planning a trip to the coast, don’t miss what most people skip when they stop at Furore’s bridge — the wine and the views above it tell a much better story.
Sources and further reading
Every Steph. “Amalfi Coast Wine Tours and Tasting.” 🔗
Food Drink Life. “Southern Italy Beyond the Amalfi Coast.” 🔗
Carpe Travel. “Amalfi Coast Itinerary for Wine Lovers.” 🔗
Related reading on Emily in Italy
Ravello Hides a Second Set of Gardens Most Visitors Never Find — A guide to the quieter gardens in Ravello that most tourists miss, perfect for pairing with a wine bar visit.
A Fishing Boat Breakfast in Cetara Beats Any Hotel Buffet on the Coast — Another off-the-beaten-path food experience on the Amalfi Coast, this one focused on the fishing town of Cetara.
The 10 Best Amalfi Coast Towns to Visit — A broader overview of Amalfi Coast towns, including some of the lesser-known ones covered in this wine crawl.