Abruzzo | Wine region

A mountain range with snowy peaks, as lonely as Tibetan highlands, lies in the middle of Italy. The Italian region of Abruzzo, with its capital L'Aquila, is just an hour's drive from Rome, fringed by an Adriatic coast some 130 kilometers long. Viticulture was introduced here by the Etruscans as early as the 7th century BC. The region, with a good 30,000 hectares of vineyards, is dominated by the Apennines, which reach their highest peaks here with Corno Grande (2,912 m) in the Gran Sasso massif and Monte Amaro (2,795 m). About two thirds are mountainous and one third is hilly. Viticulture is also practiced in part at high altitudes up to 600 meters above sea level at the foot of the mountain massif. - Gerardo [TS07/22]

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