Abruzzo’s signature wine, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, celebrated the 50th anniversary of its denomination in 2018, confirming its status as one of the great red wines of Italy.
Widespread documentary evidence shows that the grape, Montepulciano, has been part of the regional landscape since at least the mid-18th century. Certainly today, this is where it thrives and produces quality wines: full-bodied and robust at the same time as being elegant and aromatic.
Montepulciano is a late-ripening grape that comes in cone-shape bunches, often with side wings as well. The wine it makes is ruby red with aromas of violets, cherries, berry fruit and liquorice. It is very versatile: with an immediate attractiveness if drunk young, but capacity for great structure if matured in oak barrels.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC is grown uniquely in vineyards located in the hills or on higher plains, with altitudes that should not exceed 500m normally, but up to 600m for south-facing locations. There are about 17,000ha in total, accounting for about 80% of the total production in Abruzzo in a final quantity of 685,000hl (statistics from Agroqualita’ 2017).
The rosé version of this wine, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, was the first specifically rosé DOC denomination to be created in Italy in 2010, and is benefitting from the enthusiasm for pink wines that is currently sweeping the wine world.
The climate is largely a mild one on the Apennine slopes facing the Adriatic, while the internal basins are more continental. The massive mountain peaks, just a short distance from the shore (30-40 minutes by car), mean there are wide night-to-day temperature variations, which, together with excellent ventilation, guarantee an excellent climate for vines to grow and produce grapes of exceptional quality.
In the last 50 years quality has become a watchword, with production driven by passionate pioneering work by 40 co-operatives and about 200 private wineries which have identified the most suitable vineyard sites and most important native grape varieties. It’s no surprise that Abruzzo has one of the highest numbers of organic and biodynamic wineries in Italy.
One important development in the quality guarantee for the public is the adoption of the contrassegno dello Stato Italiano, seen as a “numbered neck label”, for all DOC wines regulated by the Consorzio Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo included. This ensures an important factor for the consumer: transparency and authenticity in the production process.
Export Success for Abruzzo wines in 2018
Figures for 2018 show an increase in value for Abruzzo wine exports of 6.3%, as compared to the national average of 3.3%, with a turnover up from 171 to 182 million euros. In fact, the wine sector is the most important sector for exports in the Abruzzo area, accounting for 30% of regional turnover.
Principal export markets are Germany, USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, and China.
Tourism in Abruzzo: download the Percorsi App
Cultural tourism in its widest sense
Beauty, history, nature, countryside and wine: these are the ingredients for visiting the region of Abruzzo.
The Consorzio Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo aims to make visiting this lesser-known region of Italy easier to do for visitors, and of course to invite them to visit wineries and taste their wines. In fact, 200 wineries dot the landscape in settings that range from the sea shore to the hills of the hinterland, with the mountains providing a dramatic backdrop. The idea is to link cultural and artistic attractions to the splendour of the countryside and the welcome offered by Abruzzo’s winemakers. The first step, in 2018, was to set up a website, www.discoverabruzzowine.
Credit: Lorenzo Sgalippa
At Vinitaly 2019, the next step is to be announced, an App called “Percorsi” – routes – which will give the visitor information about putting a discovery trail together to include the classic tourist destinations of monuments, museums and churches and restaurants with details about wineries on the way, listing their services: tastings, food, cellar-door sales, lodging, cellar visits and vineyard visits.
The App has 15 different suggested “percorsi”, with options to choose your ambience: sea, mountain, culture, and outdoor leisure activities, and over 200 “points of interest”, ranging from the cultural to the scenographic.
