Story: Abruzzo | Wine region

The landscape of Abruzzo resembles in its incomparable beauty the landscape of the Marche. Only that in large parts it is much more mountainous, because there the Apennines rise to their highest peak in the massif of the Gran Sasso. The guest of the region is offered dishes that are completely in the sign of careful, domestic preparation. And it is the pride of every host to point out the genuineness of the products that the land and the sea provide to the inhabitants. Thus, a peasant, earthy tradition has shaped the natural cuisine of this land.

Abruzzo is located between the central Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, and is characterized in part by high mountains such as the Gran Sasso, the highest Apennine peak. Except for some areas in the lower Abruzzo, the region combines the advantages of sufficient rainfall and high sunshine duration with a sufficiently mild climate. The important mountain massifs cause sufficient air currents and limit the temperature variations. Cereals and potatoes are among the important agricultural products of Abruzzo, besides wine of course. Olive groves extend over a wide strip along the Adriatic coast. Abruzzo has suffered particularly from the phylloxera plague and it was only in the 1960s that a real restoration of viticulture was achieved. Abruzzo's most important wine, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, is becoming increasingly popular abroad as a full-bodied and at the same time velvety red wine. - Gerardo

The most cultivated grape variety of Abruzzo and at the same time the most famous red wine of the area, is undoubtedly the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. But Abruzzo is also known for its white Trebbiano and wines made from the rediscovered grape variety Pecorino.

"...And Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is also no longer just the ubiquitous accessible and cheap drop known from the past. Today it shows itself - DOCG crowned - strong and rich in the Colline Teramane, much more filigree in Popoli and Capestrano, of great substance and fit for a long life in San Martino sulla Marrucina and Loreto Aprutino. The same goes for Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, now much more than the white warhorse in the cellar, and for Pecorino, perhaps the new wonder weapon of Abruzzo winemakers..." - Gambero Rosso

"80 percent of wine production in Abruzzo is in the province of Chieti. The lion's share continues to be claimed by Montepulciano, which together with Trebbiano accounts for 90 percent of the regional vineyards. On the rise, however, are a number of indigenous white grapes, with Pecorino leading the way." - Slow Wine