Abruzzo (historicallypl.: Abruzzi) is anItalian wine region located in the mountainous central Italian region ofAbruzzo, along theAdriatic Sea. It is bordered by theMolise wine region to the south,Marche to the north andLazio to the west. Abruzzo's rugged terrain, 65% of which is mountainous, help to isolate the region from thewinemaking influence of theancient Romans andEtruscans inTuscany, but the area has had a long history of wine production.[1][2]
Today more than 22 million cases of wine are produced annually in Abruzzo, making it the seventh most productive region in Italy, but only 21.5% of which is made under thedenominazione di origine controllata (DOC) designation.[3][4][5] More than two-thirds of the region's wine is produced byco-operatives or sold in bulk tonegociants in other Italian wine regions in Tuscany,Piedmont and theVeneto for blending.[1][2] The most notable wine of the region isMontepulciano d'Abruzzo, produced with theMontepulciano grape, that is distinct from theSangiovese grape behind the Tuscan wineVino Nobile di Montepulciano.[6] Together withTrebbiano d'Abruzzo, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is one of the most widely exported DOC wine from Italy, particularly to theUnited States.[4]
While wine is produced in all four of Abruzzo's provinces, the bulk of the production takes place in theprovince of Chieti, which is the fifth largest producing province in all of Italy. Some of the most highly rated wine from Abruzzo comes from the hillside vineyards in the northern provinces ofPescara andTeramo. In the completely mountainousprovince of L'Aquila in the west, somerosé wine known asCerasuolo from the Montepulciano grape is produced.[1]
The Abruzzo region has theApennines running along its western border and includesCorno Grande, the highest point on mainland Italy outside of The Alps. The mountain range serves as a tempering influence on the climate,blocking many storms that come in from the west. However, this does leave the area prone to storm systems originating from the east, which are blocked in their westward progression by the mountains, causing high levels of precipitation to fall on the vineyards, as happened during several rain soakedvintages of the late 1990s.[4]
To the east, theAdriatic Sea provides a moderatingMediterranean climate for the vineyards that run along a west-east orientation incalcareousclay river valleys that flow from the mountains to the seas.[1] In the northern region of Abruzzo, along the Marche border, themicroclimates,vineyard soils and altitude of many vineyards are similar to other central Italian wine regions inTuscany,Umbria andMarche, while the warmer, flatter, more humid and fertile vineyard sites in the southern Chieti have microclimates more similar to southern Italian wine regions likeCalabria andApulia.[4]
Despite the mountainous region of Abruzzo having only half of the vineyard land of regions like Tuscany, the region still produces more than 22 million cases of wine annually.[3] This is partly because of the high permittedyields of Abruzzo's main DOC region (as much as 100hectoliters/hectare) as well as the government mandated use of high-producingtendonevine-training systems, installed in the 1970s.[3][2] Particularly on the fertile hillsides and plain of the southern Chieti province, vineyards warmed by the dry Adriatic breezes during the summer can produce prodigious yields. Of all the provinces in Italy, Chieti is the fifth largest producer of wine in Italy.[1]
The dominant varieties of the region are the redMontepulciano (grape) and the whiteTrebbiano d'Abruzzo grape, which was once considered aclone of the "insipid" Trebbiano Toscano.[2] Trebbiano d'Abruzzo is thought not to be a version of Trebbiano at all, but the southern Italian white grapeBombino bianco. Both Trebbiano Toscano and Bombino bianco are still widely planted in Abruzzo withfield blends including all 3 varieties labeled as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo still common.[7][1][8]
While the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape has no known relationship to the Tuscan wine village ofMontepulciano or theSangiovese grape behind the wines ofVino Nobile di Montepulciano, it was thought of for a time, in the 19th century, that the Montepulciano grape and Sangiovese may be related. While this relationship has proven false, it is still not known how the dominant grape of Abruzzo took the name of theRenaissance era town.[6]
Nearly 80% of all the wine in the Abruzzo region is produced by large co-operative wineries with the four largest –Cantina Tollo,Casal Thaulero,Casal Bordino andCitra – dominating wine production in the region. In addition to making the majority of Abruzzo labeled wine, these large co-ops also sell wine to other Italian and French wine regions, where they are used for blending. According to wine expertsJoe Bastianich andDavid Lynch, a "good part" of many "better-regarded" French and northern Italian wines come from Abruzzo.[4]
In the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a trend away from the co-operatives towards growers starting their own boutique or artisanal wineries. Two early proponents of this movement wereEmidio Pepe for the province ofTeramo,Santoleri for the province ofChieti sub-area Crognaleto (Guardiagrele) andEdoardo Valentini for the province ofPescara (who is described by Bastianich and Lynch as the "Angelo Gaja of Abruzzo" and byMaster of WineMary Ewing-Mulligan as the "Lord of the Vines"), who brought innovative styles of winemaking to the region that combines traditional and modern techniques.[1][4]
Pepe incorporates some elements of traditional winemaking, including crushing hisorganically grown grapes by foot, similar to the traditionalPort wine tradition of using a large stone vats calledlagares to tread on wine grapes. He also shuns the use of anyfining and filtration aids, as well as the use of thesulfur dioxide for preserving and protecting the wine oxidation. However, instead of using oak barrels or stainless steelfermentation tanks, Pepe ferments and ages everything in glass (from using glass lined fermentation vessels, to storing the wine in bottles). When the wines are ready to be released, they aredecanted off their sediments and repackaged in a new wine bottle.[6]
Valentini and the new wave of artisanal winemakers often utilize extensivepruning,green harvesting, and low crop yields in the vineyard. As well, as extendedmaceration for red wines, andoak aging for whites to produce wines that have received some critical acclaim.[4] According to Matt Kramer, Valentini's Trebbiano d'Abruzzo maybe "Italy's single greatest dry white wine".[6] Wine expertJancis Robinson describes it as "one of Italy's most distinctive dry white wines".[2]
_(engraver)_-_Miguel_de_Cervantes.jpg)
Widely grown throughout Abruzzo and central Italy (and believed by someampelographers to be indigenous to the region), Montepulciano is the fifth most widely planted red grape variety in Italy – behindSangiovese,Barbera,Merlot, andNegroamaro. In Abruzzo, it is the principal grape behind the DOC wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, where the grape is noted for producing darklycolored,tannic wines, with lowacidity and someaging potential. According to wine expertMatt Kramer, well made examples from favorable vintages can be inky-black, with "fjord-like depth of fruit" and soft, sweet tannins that are never astringent, unless the wine extracted too many tannins from prolong exposure tooak.[6] Jancis Robinson notes that some examples of Montepulciano can exhibit areductive character, likely due to the high levels ofphenolics in the grape variety.[2]
While Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is produced in all four provinces of Abruzzo, nearly two-thirds comes from the Chieti province, though many of the more critically acclaimed versions come from the lower yields and less fertileferrous clay andlimestone vineyards of the northern Teramo and Pescara provinces.[1]
From the mountainous province of L'Aquila, arosé made from Montepulciano calledCerasuolo is a specialty of the region. These deep cherry pink wines get their color from the highly pigmented Montepulciano grape, that requires only a very brief period (sometimes less than a day) ofmaceration time prior topressing.[1] According to wine experts Bastianich and Lynch, these wines tend to be "heartier" than typicalrosés, with exotic spice aromas along with dried cherry, orange peel, strawberry and cinnamon notes.[4] Matt Kramer describesCerasuolo as "one of the world's greatrosé".[6]
In the Controquerra DOC, stretched out among five communes near the Marche, border in northern Abruzzo, a novello style wine is produced from grapes that at least 30% of which has undergonecarbonic maceration (a technique used in theFrench wine region ofBeaujolais for the wineBeaujolais nouveau). This produces a very fruity wine with low tannins, that can be consumed soon after thevintage.[1]
The major white wine of the region is produced by theTrebbiano d'Abruzzo, and Trebbiano Toscano grapes (the later is often labeled simply Trebbiano. The wine gained fame in the early 17th century when it was praised for its high quality by the Spanish writerMiguel de Cervantes in his workNovelas ejemplares.[2][9][10] These wines tend to be low inextract and acidity, with faintaromatics that can be lightly floral. However, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo tends to be much more complex when compared to Trebbiano Toscano. When produced with some oak, and often blended with Chardonnay, Bastianich and Lynch note that the wines can have a creamy richness with pear and apple flavors and slightoxidized notes of caramel and nuts.[4]
Abruzzo has approximately 30,000 hectares of vineyards planted in the region, with roughly half devoted to DOC production.[3]
In addition to the region's DOCs, Abruzzo is also home to eightindicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations—Alto Tirino,Colli del Sangro,Colline Frentane,Colline Pescaresi,Colline Teatine,Vastese (also known as Histonium),Terre di Chieti andValle Peligna.[5] Many producers use these IGT to produceproprietary red blends, using moreinternational varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.[6]
| Provinces andgeography |  | |
|---|---|---|
| History | ||
| Politics and government | ||
| Culture and heritage | ||
| Economy | ||
| Science | ||
| Education | ||
| Transport | ||
Wines andwinemaking | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
