The Variety of Abruzzo Wines

The wines of Abruzzo are best known for their montepulciano d’abruzzo, but there is so much more.  Today I’m highlighting some wines I recently received to try and others I had at some tastings earlier this summer from Abruzzo that I’ve been waiting to share with you.  Our Italian Food, Wine and Travel group this month takes you all through the wines of Abruzzo with some suggested pairings along the way. 

The Land ~ Abruzzo 

Abruzzo is located in central Italy located on the east coast along the Adriatic.  Bordering Le Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and Molise to the south.  It’s about 2/3 covered in mountains and is one of the most if not the most mountainous region in central and southern Italy.  The Apennine mountain range runs through it plus the Gran Sasso in northern Abruzzo with Monti della Lago and Massif of Mariella as well.   

The Wineries 

The first three wines I share below come from Codice Citra.  Codice Citra is a winery founded in 1973.  Three of the wines today including the Citra, Caldora and Ferzo are all part of this overarching brand.  Codice Citra is made up of a bunch of small families combining a variety of terroirs and climates in the province of Chieti.  The winemaking is overlooked by the famous Italian enologist, Riccardo Cotarella, whom I’ve talked about in previous posts assisting other wineries throughout Italy.  The grapes grown in this area benefits from the “brezza di terra” as their website mentions which creates the perfect climate with cold air traveling from the mountains with the warm air from the sea. 

The Grapes 

No matter how many wines you try I feel there is always something to learn, especially when it comes to Italian wine.  This month I tried a wine from a grape I actually hadn’t even heard of, cococciola.  Cococciola is a grape native to southern Abruzzo almost all hailing from the province of Chieti.  It is a grape that has been typically blended with trebbiano, but in the wine I present today it stands alone.   

White wines only make up about 40% of Abruzzo’s wines with reds dominating the pack.  Trebbiano is the leading white grape, but there are others like cococciola and pecorino.  Montepulciano leads the charge of red grapes with dominating over half of the production. 

The Wine 

2017 Ferzo Cococciola IGP Terre di Chieti - This wine is made from 100% cococciola.  The grapes are gently pressed and fermented in stainless steel.  This is the wine’s 3rd vintage.  Straw colored and rather light in body.  Stone fruit on the nose with a refreshing palate with crisp acidity up front and lingering citrus and apple notes through the finish.  ABV 13% SRP $26 

2017 Citra Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOP – A brand many are familiar with and I actually remember an Italian restaurant that I worked for when I was young using this wine in their cooking.  Citra produces 24 million bottles so to say they are quite large is an understatement.  This wine is deep ruby in color.  Full bodied and fruit forward, rich in dark berries.  A great every day, easy drinking wine.  It’s hard not to beat when it’s only about $8 a bottle.  ABV 13%  

Pairing: I paired this wine with a classic chicken parmesan dish with a side of eggplant parmesan.  To be honest I feel that either this or the Caldora Sangiovese would've worked out just as well.

2016 Caldora Sangiovese Terre di Chieti IGT – I'm a sangiovese lover as you may know so was excited to try this from the Abruzzo region.  Dark dark ruby and dark cherry on the nose.  The fruit was more pronounced and not as dry as their counterpart and comparison to some of the Tuscan wines.  More round with softer tannin.  Notes of vanilla and well-balanced.  Another easy drinking wine and only about $10-12 bottle.  ABV 12.5% SRP $10-12 

My personal selections from tastings earlier this summer are: 

2015 Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva DOC– From the esteemed Masciarelli winery this line of wines is named after the founder, Gianni Masciarelli’s wife, Marina Cvetic.  The 100% montepulciano grapes that produce this wine come from their prized San Martino sulla Marruccina estate in the Chieti province.  Rich, lush raspberries with vanilla and baking spice notes.  Well structured with balanced acidity and moderate tannin.  This wine is aged 12-18 months in French barrique before being bottled.  ABV 14.5% SRP $26-30 

2015 Orlandi Contucci Ponno Podere La Regia Specula Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane DOCG – Under the Agricole Gussalli Beretta the Orlandi Contucci Ponno winery is situated about a mile from the Adriatic and rather close to the Gran Sasso.  Made from 100% montepulciano this wine spends 12 months partially in tonneaux and partially in 20 hectolitre barrels plus 6 months in the bottle.  Full-bodied showing cherries and red fruits with some tannin showing through on the finish.  ABV 13.5% SRP Wine Searcher says this bottle goes for $9 and I couldn’t find any other pricing, but if that is the case it’s one heck of a deal.

Below are the the fellow Italian Food, Wine and Travel participants with their food and wine pairing selections.  Join the live Twitter chat this Saturday October 5th at 11am EST at #ItalianFWT.  

• Steven from Wine and Food Pairings discusses Cioppino – Red or White Wine? #Italian FWT"
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shared about The Food and Wines of Abruzzo"
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla will brings us Scrippelle 'mbusse + Ferzo Passerina"
• Deanna from Asian Test Kitchen reveals 5 Iconic Abruzzo Wines to Try from Torre Zambra" 
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator shares "Beautiful Abruzzo: 3 Montepulciano and 1 Trebbiano with simple Italian cuisine" 
• Cindy from Grape Experiences suggests that you "Immerse Yourself in Wines from Abruzzo for a Genuine Taste of Italy" 
• Pinny from Chinese Food and Wine Pairing is “Celebrating Abruzzo Wines with the Ferzo Passerina, Citra Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Caldora Chardonnay”. 
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass suggests Fresh Abruzzo wines to pair with fall produce (#ItalianFWT)” 
•  Jeff of Food Wine Click brings us "Pairing Magic with Ferzo Pecorino and Squash Risotto" 
•  Nicole from Somm's Table shares "Cooking to the Wine: Lammidia Anfora Rosso from Abruzzo & Pot Roast with Tomatoes and Chickpeas" 
• David from Cooking Chat shared "Baked Haddock with Pasta and White Wine from Abruzzo".
• Susannah from Avvinare takes "A Fresh Look at the Wines of Abruzzo" 
• Rupal from Syrah Queen shares "Exploring The Wine & Gastronomy of Abruzzo" 
•  Katarina from Grapevine Adventures wrote about San Lorenzo Winery - Montepulciano d'Abruzzo between Sea and Mountain  

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*All wines were provided as samples, but opinions are strictly my own.

Leading the way for Teroldego in the Trentino with Elisabetta Foradori

For a long time now I’ve heard about the wines of Elisabetta Foradori, but had yet to try them.  I attended a tasting and tried a couple of the teroldego wines that she produces.  Until I did my research into the Foradori winery as well as studing for my Italian Wine Scholar certification I didn’t realize that impact she has made on the wine industry in the Trentino wine region, especially with the teroldego grape. 

The Winery 

The Foradori winery was started back in 1939 by Vittorio Foradori.  Due to the passing of Vittorio, his daughter Elisabetta Foradori took over upon her graduation in enology from the Istituto di San michele all’Adige.  

Elisabetta Foradori

Elisabetta has made many changes including becoming biodynamic in 2002 with a later Demeter certification in 2009.  In 2010 Elisabetta and 10 other producers established the I Dolomitici consortium in Trentino.  Their site provides an in depth look into the close care and attention that she takes in producing wines biodynamically.  It’s all about a relationship with nature, the vines and the land with the least amount of manipulation to allow the grapes to show their true selves in the glass. 

The Grape ~ Teroldego 

Teroldego is a grape native to Trentino and grows particularly well in the area of the Campo Rotaliano.  This plateau of flat land surrounded by the mountains in northern Trentino is made of stony alluvial soils, limestone and gravel.   

Teroldego wines are dark and deep in color, full-bodied, rather fruity with ripe berries, smooth tannins and a little spice.  Aged wines developer further dense, complex characteristics.   

The Wine 

The 2015 Foradori Granato Teroldego Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT is made of 100% teroldego.  It is sourced from 3 vineyards of theirs in the Campo Rotaliano.  The wine is fermented in large open oak casks and spends 15 months in old oak botti up to 22 hectolitres.   It is unfiltered with an additional year of age in the bottle.  A beautifully dense and concentrated wine rich in blueberries and blackberries.  Full-bodied, but nice elegance with a lasting finish.  SRP $53 

The Granato is the longest aged wine they have.  The first vintage of Granato was produced back in 1986.  This wine brought international attention and recognition to what Elisabetta was and is achieving at the winery.  

On their 70 acres of land, 75% of it is dedicated to teroldego with the rest including manzoni bianco, nosiola and pinot grigio.  The winery originally used new French barriques with some of their wines, but hasn’t used any new or used barriques since 2008.  Elisabetta felt it was better to shift to a “gentle and traditional, true terroir focus”.  Winemaking choices like this, plus being organic, biodynamic, hand-harvesting grapes, spontaneous fermentation and other methods are what make her wines special.   

Today Elisabetta is joined in the winery by her two sons and I look forward to hopefully trying some of the other wines that she produces and learning more about her mark in the wine industry in Trentino.  

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*Pictures copyright of Elisabetta Foradori and photographer Andrea Scaramuzza.

Tasting with Matteo Ascheri of Ascheri Winery in Piedmont

I’ve been wanting to revisit wines from the Ascheri winery in Piedmont since I traveled there back in 2009.  Recently I had the opportunity to be reacquainted with the owner, Matteo Ascheri, at a tasting in Boston sampling a large lineup of his wines.  Such a passionate and jovial man and it’s a pleasure to share some of my favorites from the day.   

Matteo Ascheri, owner of Ascheri winery

I won’t go in depth into Matteo’s winery as you can view my previous article, Touring the Ascheri Winery in Piedmont, I wrote close to when I started my blog some years ago.  What I found interesting reflecting back is that one of the wines I’m sharing today was also my selection in a different vintage during my visit.  When you have a style and type of wine you like I guess it is what it is. 

The Winery 

The Ascheri winery has been producing wines since 1880 and after so much time, dedication, hard work and passion it’s no wonder that their wines are an “expression of the vineyard it comes from, of the grapes it is made of, and above all of our own ideas” as stated on their site.  They believe in sustainable practices and “non intervention”  with use of moderate technology and larger oak casks to display the best expression of their wines. 

And a big congratulations to Matteo for being appointed President of the Consortium of Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani in early 2018. 

The Wines 

2018 Ascheri Pelaverga di Verduno – This grape, pelaverga, is a rather rare red grape with only about 150,000 bottles produced in total on 22 hectares amongst the growers, according to Matteo.  I appreciate that the winery donates 10% of the wine to an organization for the poor. The label is designed after the organization.  Pelaverga, meaning green skin, is only found around the town of Verdune within the Langhe appellation.  Another grape that almost faced extinction until some producers, including Matteo, decided to reinvigorate it.  It’s a wine that is very easy to drink, lighter red in color with a bouquet of strawberries and a little spice.  Nice bright acidity and moderate tannins.    SRP $18 

The next 2 wines are part of Matteo’s “collectible collection”.  Per their site what makes these wines special to him is that “after years of investments in the vineyards and in the cellar, trying to develop a personal approach I was able to produce these wines that best represent my ideals and my ideas.  Mainly because they are the perfect fusion of my thinking and the reality.”  

2015 Ascheri Barolo Pisapola Verduno – As they call it “forward and stylish” this is a wine they produce only in the best vintages.  This nebbiolo is something I would really love to taste in years to come.  Although the tannins were gripping it had a beautiful velvety finish to it.  Newly released. 

2015 Ascheri Barolo Sorano Serralunga d’Alba - Again my pick of the barolos at the tasting.  This is what the winery calls their “classic barolo”.  Beautiful fruit, dried flowers, spice, nice acidity and a wine rather approachable in its youth, but with many years to develop in the bottle.  Newly released. 

Sorano vineyards at Ascheri winery ~ Copyright of Ascheri

Have you visited Piedmont and what are some wineries you have enjoyed? 

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