Abruzzo's great white: Pecorino d'Abruzzo

Back in October I attended a class and wine tasting of Pecorino d’Abruzzo led by Jeremy Parzen of Do Bianchi and hosted by the Consorzio Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo.  It’s been nice to see this wine get some recognition in the market in recent years since it’s a wine that deserves a seat at the table, especially if you’re a white wine lover.   

The Abruzzo wine region

Abruzzo is located in central Italy and is only about 60 miles northeast of Rome through the mountains.  This region is uniquely situated with close proximity to the Adriatic Sea and some of the highest peaks in Europe including the Gran Sasso, the highest peak of the Apennines. 

Jeremy Parzen

The Abruzzo wine region is mostly made up of organic farming.  For the farmers of this region it is a way of life and not just a marketing lure.  They believe in expressing the purity of the environment through the farming methods.  In Abruzzo there are many wine cooperatives with brands like Citra and Frontana being some of the larger producers.  Some may turn their nose to coops, but what you have to remember is that these coops create a sense of community and are made up of small families that own small parcels of land that they tend to that band together to create these wines as a representation of Abruzzo wine. 

Abruzzo is mostly know for its red wine, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, but there are so many other great wines of the region to enjoy including it’s rosè, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, and another white, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.  The Trebbiano of Abruzzo is similar to the Trebbiano of Tuscany, although in Abruzzo, this grape is richer and more mineral driven as Jeremy describes.  Then there is the other white grape of Abruzzo, Pecorino.  Let's learn more.  

The Pecorino grape 

I believe the Pecorino name tends to catch ones eye because if you’re like me it’s one of my favorite cheeses, if not my most favorite cheese.  Although this grape has nothing to do with pecorino cheese.  It’s believed that this grape got its name from the transumanza, which was a migration of the sheep from the mountains to the valleys.  Along the way the shephards ate the Pecorino grapes that were growing wild.   

Pecorino’s homeland is in the L’Aquila province in the northwestern part of Abruzzo.  This area is a very rugged, mountainous terrain of Abruzzo and the Pecorino grape loves elevation.  There has also been an increase in producers seeking land and planting in the mountains due to climate change so maybe we will see more producers working with this grape to come in future years.

Pecorino is a grape that was forgotten until the 1980’s when producers in the Le Marche region, north of Abruzzo, began to reinvigorate this grape.  In Abruzzo, Luigi Cataldi Madonna is the first one to bring this grape to life within the region.  Luigi, winemaker and philosophy professor, believed that the world wanted more white wines.  He had found old Pecorino vines that he replanted. He is believed to be the first one to actually label a bottle Pecorino starting with his 1996 vintage. 

Pecorino is an aromatic grape with thick skins that loves clay soils.  The grapes experience a nice diurnal shift in day to night temperatures that help preserve the wine’s acidity and good ventilation of the mountains help keep the grapes dry and healthy.  

The Pecorino wines

Let’s take a look at some of my top favorite Pecorino wines from the tasting starting with my most favorite. 

The 2023 Nuntius Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT is made from 100% Pecorino from the Mastrangelo Tenimenti del Grifone winery in Loreto Aprutino.  This winery started in 2000 with the grandfather.  The must goes through a short cryomaceration with the skins for 8-10 hours to extract the aromas these wines are known for.  The grapes are gently pressed with the must chilled and decanted for 10-12 hours.  It’s stored in stainless steel and aged on the lees for 3 months.  It spends one month in the bottle before release to the market.    

Grassy, green notes on the nose similar to some Sauvignon Blancs.  Medium-bodied with some saltiness on the crisp palate.  Round with ripe tropical fruit.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Prope Pecorino Colli Aprutini IGT is made from 100% Pecorino from the producer Velenosi in Ascoli Piceno.  The owner, Angela Velenosi, is a native to Abruzzo.  The name of this wine, Prope, in latin means near since Ascoli Piceno lies on the border of the Marche region.  This wine is cold macerated for about 15 hours and vinified in cement barrels.   

Tropical and citrus notes on the aromas.    I found this wine to be light, airy and crisp with citrus/lemon notes and a touch of salt with a lengthy finish.  Different in style from the previous wine, but there is a wine for every occasion or pairing. Jeremy threw out that this wine could pair with fish tacos and I could see it being a perfect pairing with this particular one.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Colleventano Pecorino Superiore Colline Teramane Abruzzo DOC is 100% Pecorino from Fattoria Giuseppe Savini in Morro D’Oro, whom is one of the longest running producers in the area established in 1949 by Vincenzo Savini. 

The grapes for this wine were immediately, softly pressed with a decantation for 36 hours with fermentation for about 12 days.  It rests in stainless tanks for 2 months with the fermentation yeasts.  Dry, with light to medium body, this wine was bright and crisp as well as delicate.  Citrus nights with nice elegance with a lengthy finish.  ABV 13.5% 

The 2023 Il Pecorino Abruzzo DOC Pecorino is 100% Pecorino from the San Lorenzo Vini winery in Castilenti.  The juice was cryomacerated and then softly pressed with spontaneous fermentation in stainless thanks with 3 months of refinement in the bottle. 

The wine had aromas of green apple with round fruit, citrus and pineapple, showing on the palate.  A touch of minerality showing nice elegance.  ABV 13% 

The 2023 Soprano Pecorino Controguerra DOC is from Cantina Strappelli in Torano Nuovo is made from 100% Pecorino.  A much different Pecorino than the previously tasted wines with toasty aromas and a hint of vanilla.  This Pecorino was mineral driven with a touch of vanilla on the palate as well with some nice length on the finish. 

The remaining Pecorino wines tasted include: 

• 2022 Tenuta Terraviva Ekwo Organic Pecorino Abruzzo DOC 
•  2023 Idi di Marzo Oro del Mare Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT 
•  2022 Poderi D’Aurizio D’Auri Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT 

Have you tried this grape?  What do you think and do you have any favorites?

You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find a variety of Pecorino wines to try for yourself.

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The World of Abruzzo Wines

I recently attended a virtual event on the Abruzzo wine region led by Andrea Eby, Italian Programs Director at the Wine Scholar Guild.  It was a thorough look into the region highlighting all the elements that define this wine region including its history, climate and topography along with its featured grapes.  Let’s take an in-depth look into the Abruzzo wine region. 

Abruzzo’s location and topography 

Abruzzo is located in the central portion of Italy on the eastern side facing the Adriatic Sea.  The Marche region borders to the north, the Lazio region to the west and Molise to the south.  Abruzzo has a unique terrain where there are three types of topography.  On the east side you have 80 miles of coastline filled with sandy beaches.   

The central part of Abruzzo is filled with gentle hills and inland Abruzzo is very mountainous.  About two thirds of Abruzzo is covered with mountainous terrain with steep high elevations.  It hosts the Apennines highest peak, Gran Sasso and the Maiella Massif.  Abruzzo has a very wild, untouched landscape. The southern portion is full of dense Mediterranean scrub.   There are also three national parks and 10+ nature reserves spread throughout.  It has a little bit for everyone to explore. 

The soil and climate of Abruzzo 

The climate is rather mild in Abruzzo on the side of the Adriatic Sea.  Inland is more continental.  The territory experiences large diurnal swings in temperature, which is ideal for growing grapes.  The grapes receive good ventilation that helps prevent the grapes from forming fungus and helps keep the vines healthy. 

In ancient times the land was covered by a vast lake, so the soil is high in clay and marine sediment.  Closer to the coast the soil will be more sand based.  The vine system mostly found on these soils of Abruzzo is the pergola system, used by more than 80% of the vineyards. The pergola system naturally shades the grapes preventing them from getting sunburned and helps slow down the ripening so that the wines don’t result in wines that are too high in alcohol. 

Abruzzo’s wine territories 

Prior to the Renaissance period, the vineyards of Abruzzo were mostly based in the Peligna Valley within the L’Aquila province.  During the period of Italy’s unification, Abruzzo’s viticulture experienced rapid transformation.  Over the last 50 years viticulture has abandoned much of the Peligna Valley and shifted towards the hilly coastal territory.   Where L’Aquila used to have the majority share, today their production is less than 1%.  The Chieti province has about 83% of its territory planted with vines followed by Pescara and Teramo with 10 and 6% respectively.

Sourced from Wikipedia - Abruzzo's wine region and 4 provinces

Abruzzo’s vineyards cover 84,000 acres with about 6,000 grape producers, 250 wineries and 35 wine cooperatives totaling an annual production of 140 million bottles.  As you can see there are many farmers in Abruzzo that sell their production to the cooperatives.   

Abruzzo’s wine designations

Abruzzo has 2 DOCG designations: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane DOCG and the most recent one, Tullum or Terre Tollesi DOCG.  There Abruzzo DOC’s are Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo, Controguerra, Ortona, Villamagna.  The subzones are Colline Teramane, Colline Pescaresi, Terre di Chieti and Terre Aquilane or Terre de L’Aquila.  These subzones are the only ones that can use Riserva and Superiore on their labels.   

The grapes of Abruzzo 

Abruzzo’s primary grapes are Montepulciano, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Pecorino and Passerina.  Other grapes you will find in Abruzzo that are produced in lesser quantity and are mainly  blending grapes include Malvasia, Cococciola, Montonico and Moscatello.  Let’s take a quick peak at some of Abruzzo’s top grapes. 

Leading the whites is Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.   You may remember the Trebbiano grape when we’ve highlighted Tuscan grapes, where it is known as Trebbiano Toscana.  Trebbiano Toscana is the most planted, but Trebbiano d’Abruzzo has more complexity and body.  It is a delicate grape with thin skins that is light, crisp and easy drinking.   It is a grape that has great acidity, but also has the risk to lose acidity and receive mild rot if not monitored closely.  Some producers will use barrel maturation and lees aging to give these wines more texture.   

Pecorino, along with the Passerina grape, are white grapes in Abruzzo that can also be found in the Marche region.  Percorino faced extinction in the 20th century since it isn’t a high yielding grape.  The producer, Grifone, helped bring this grape back to life. Now plantings have been increasing since the 90’s so we are seeing more and more of this grape on the market.   

Pecorino does well at high altitudes and will reach high sugar levels along with high acidity.  Pecorino, in comparison to it’s fellow Abbruzese friend Trebbiano, has more character.  The wines are dry with floral aromas and notes of tropical fruit, citrus and herbs.  There may also be some hints of minerality on the finish.  

Lastly, Abruzzo’s red grape Montepulciano is not only the top red grape of Abruzzo, but it is also the 2nd most planted red grape of Italy. Montepulciano is a late ripening grape that brings darker color to the glass due to its high anthocyanins. These wines are full-bodied and robust with notes of red and black fruits along with some spice and sometimes a rustic, earthy edge. There are plenty of quaffable Montepulciano d’Abruzzo on the market, but also some beauties with great complexity and ageworthy. 

Sourced from Wikipedia - Montepulciano grape cluster

What are some of your favorite wines of Abruzzo? Do you have any favorite producers?  

You can reference some of my previous blogs on the many wines of Abruzzo.

• Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo: One of Italy's Great Rosè Wines
•  The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane with Cerelli Spinozzi 
•  The Organic Wines of Abruzzo with La Valentina
•  Summer Food and Wine Pairing: Shrimp Orzo Salad with Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
•  Grape of the Sheep with Umani Ronchi Pecorino
•  The Variety of Abruzzo Wines    



Sourced by the Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Abruzzo

You can shop on Wine.com in support of Vino Travels and find Abruzzo wines to try.

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Shrimp Scampi Pizza Paired with Masciarelli Montepulciano Rosé

If you haven’t discovered Italy’s many styles of rosé wines what are you waiting for?  If you have yet to jump on the rosé bus then there is no better time than the present.  You can find many Italian rosé wines from northern to southern Italy utilizing a variety of native grapes.  Today’s rosé feature will be based on the Montepulciano grape, Abruzzo’s signature red grape, from Tenuta Agricole Masciarelli.   With Valentine’s Day right around the corner the enticing pink hues and flavor profile of Abruzzo’s rosé will be sure to please yourself or that special loved one in your life.

Montepulciano rosé 

For those of us that are regular rosé drinkers or Italian wine lovers at that, if you’ve had the opportunity to drink rosé in Abruzzo you’ve probably had Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo.  Although, this wine I’m sharing today doesn’t fall under the Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC.  It Is part of the Colline Teatine IGT.  Per winesearcher, the name Teatine is believed to be named after Teate, which was the name for Chieti in Roman times.   The Colline Teatine IGT was created in 1995 and covers the hilly terroir around Chieti.  Here the hills meet the foothills of the Central Apennines as well as the Maiella Mountains.  The cooling breezes from the mountain range along with its close proximity to the Adriatic Sea is what creates ideal conditions with its Mediterranean climate. 

Montepulciano not only makes great red wines, but rosé wines as well.  Even though Montepulciano I think really claims its home in the Abruzzo region, you can also find Montepulciano produced throughout several other regions in Italy.  It tops the charts for Italian grapes produced throughout the country.   The Montepulciano grape has thick skins that creates wines with deep colors and concentration and is part of the reason it does well as a rosé.  This grape needs a long growing season to reach its full maturity.  You’ll see a variety of colors in rosé wines made from Montepulciano based on the producer and how long they choose to macerate the skins with the juice, although not much time is really needed before it imparts its rich colors and flavors. 

The Wine

I’m not going to dig into the Masciarelli estate much today as I have featured them previously as I shared Montepulciano wines from around Abruzzo .  The 2022 Masciarelli Rosato Colline Teatine IGT that I’m featuring today is made from 85% Montepulciano grapes and up to 15% other red grapes.  Masciarelli has been making this wine along with their Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo since 1981 from the owner, Gianni Masciarelli’s, original 12 acres at his home vineyard.

The free-run must is fermented in stainless steel to preserve the freshness in this wine along with its acidity.  The grapes are sourced from 3 of Masciarelli’s vineyard sites around the area of Chieti in the Bucchianico, Martino sull Marrucina and Ripa Teatina vineyards mostly made up of calcareous clay. 

The 2022 Masciarelli Rosato Colline Teatine IGT was a beautiful salmon color in the glass.  Fresh on the nose with aromas of wild strawberries.  Simple and delicate on the palate, but refreshing acidity with notes of slightly tart strawberries. 

If you’re looking for an introduction to Italian rosé without dropping too much on a bottle, this is a satisfying and easy-drinking wine priced at $15 a bottle.  Plus, it has a screw cap for easy accessibility. 

Montepulciano Wine Pairing

After tasting this wine I could see its versatility with a variety of dishes, but I chose to make a white pizza of shrimp scampi.  It’s been a long time since I’ve made a white pizza.  As a child, I grew up with my mom making pizzas on Friday nights, usually your typical cheese, but as I grew I got to appreciate a white pizza as well. Although, my two young boys looked at me funny when I took this one out of the oven and then proceeded to tell them it had shrimp on it.  They’ll learn.

It was rather simple to put together.  I cooked the shrimp first in oil, garlic, butter, and salt making sure there was enough use as the sauce in prepping the pizza.  I put the dough into the oven first for about 4-5 minutes before putting the toppings on.   I brushed the garlic butter sauce from cooking the shrimp on top of the pizza with some parsley and topped it with shrimp I chopped up along with mozzarella cheese.  I cooked it an additional 8-10 minutes and it came out perfect!  Plus, the Masciarelli Rosato pairing couldn’t have balanced any better with the flavors in the pizza.  It had a nicely matched body of the wine in comparison with the shrimp scampi pizza and complimentary flavors. 

If you’re looking for casual and easy preparation this Valentine’s Day without skimping on satisfaction this may be the pairing to try.

This month I'm joining the Wine Pairing Weekend group as we chat about rosé wines and suggested pairings.  Follow my fellow wine writer friends as they share a wide variety of pairings.

• A Dozen Rosés for Valentines and Galentines Part 1: 6 Old World Wines + Croque Monsieur and Part 2: 6 CA Wines + Monte Cristo Sandwiches by Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley
• Is Pink Wine the New Winter White? by My Full Wine Glass
• Kimchi Spaghetti with Black Girl Magic Rosé by Cooking Chat
• Marry Me Chicken and Cantina Zaccagnini Il Vino Dal Tralcetto Rose; A Perfect Pairing for your Valentine by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pink Pét-Nats from Around the World with Some Loved Up Bites by Culinary Cam
• Please Be Vine, Rosé Bubbles! by The Quirky Cork
• Rose-shaped pasta and Rosé! by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Salmon en Papillote with Coopers Hawk Katie Lee Biegel Rosé by Our Good Life

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*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.

 

Importer on the label: Vintus