Introducing Abruzzo

Finding a winery in Abruzzo without Montepulciano is about as likely as finding a household in South Dakota without firearms. The red all-rounder is omnipresent, and with almost equal certainty, the white Trebbiano is growing right next to it. These two varieties define the ampelographic image of a region that hasn’t entirely vanished from the radar of Central European wine drinkers, but about which most people know as much as they do about South Dakota.

Until recently, that wasn’t much of a loss. Ordering a Montepulciano would, depending on how much you spent, either get you an over-extracted wine overwhelmed by oak, or an undefined, clunky, and ultimately meaningless banality — a counterpoint perhaps, but not a better one. Trebbiano, too, was best left unmentioned. One could easily have crossed Abruzzo off the personal wine map and focused on the neighboring Marche — if it weren’t for a few winemakers who showed, year after year, how good both grape varieties could actually taste.

Edoardo Valentini and Emidio Pepe were the first, toward the end of the last century, to explore the region’s true potential. Following in their wake, more and more young winemakers learned to put their own stamp on their specific terroirs within the region. While conceptually stepping into the same footprints — organic viticulture and artisanal winemaking without additives — they adapted those principles to the specific environments of their vineyards, which in Abruzzo can vary drastically depending on whether you're near the sea, in the mountains, or on the hills in between.

These heterogeneous landscapes go hand in hand with climatic nuances, variations in soil temperatures, rainfall, and exposure, which — over just a few kilometers — can lead to completely distinct wines. What remains astonishing is that no matter where you are, Montepulciano always takes the lead. Along the Adriatic coast, it almost inevitably results in generous, expansive, fruit-forward, and warm wines, whereas in the hills around Teramo and further south near Sulmona, you often find cooler, more focused versions with herbal and peppery notes. When well made, both styles have their charm. Excellent, too, are the Rosati made from Montepulciano, typically found under the label Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo in wine shops.

In our opinion, the best of them is made by Luca Virgilio of Caprera. A few years ago, he established his winery in Pietranico, right between the three mountain ranges of Majella, Sirente, and Gran Sasso. At an elevation of around 400 meters, the influence of the sea — just 40 kilometers away — is minimal. Instead, it’s the cool winds from the mountains that leave their mark on his wines. In addition to his Cerasuolo, the obligatory but exemplary Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, and the light-footed, mineral-driven Trebbiano Briccone, this influence can also be tasted in his superb Vento e Sale("Wind and Salt"), a white wine made from the once-rare but striking Pecorino grape — which, thankfully, has been making a comeback in local vineyards in recent years.