Abruzzo wine region

The Abruzzo region has the Apennines running along its western border and includes Corno 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 soaked vintages of the late 1990s. To the east, the Adriatic Sea provides a moderating Mediterranean climate for the vineyards that run along a west–east orientation in calcareous clay river valleys that flow from the mountains to the seas. In the northern region of Abruzzo, along the Marche border, the microclimates, vineyard soils and altitude of many vineyards are similar to other central Italian wine regions in Tuscany, Umbria and Marche, while the warmer, flatter, more humid and fertile vineyard sites in the southern Chieti have microclimates more similar to southern Italian wine regions like Calabria and Apulia. ==Viticulture and grapes==

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. While the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grape has no known relationship to the Tuscan wine village of Montepulciano or the Sangiovese grape behind the wines of Vino 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 the Renaissance era town. ==Winemaking==

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 and Citra – 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 experts Joe Bastianich and David Lynch, a "good part" of many "better-regarded" French and northern Italian wines come from Abruzzo. These wines tend to be low in extract and acidity, with faint aromatics 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 slight oxidized notes of caramel and nuts. ==DOCS and other wine regions==

Abruzzo has approximately 30,000 hectares of vineyards planted in the region, with roughly half devoted to DOC production. • Controguerra DOC – created in 1996 and located in the hills and valleys around the commune of Controguerra (whose name means "anti-war" in the local dialect) Passito and vino novello styles of wine can also be produced in this DOC as well as varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Ciliegiolo and Pinot nero.) and Trebbiano Toscano, which was once thought to be the same grape as Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, must account for at least 85% of the blend with Malvasia Toscano, Cococciola and Passerina permitted to make up to 15% of the blend. The wines must be aged a minimum of 5 months prior to release and attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11.5%. • Terre Tollesi DOC – established as a DOC in 2008. It is a small DOC, and as of 2014 it covers 21 hectares with 723hl of wine produced. It allows a wide variety of grapes to be produced. White: Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Trebbiano Toscana, Falanghina, Malvasia, Moscato, Passerina, and Chardonnay. Red: Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. • Ortona DOC – established as a DOC in 2011. As of 2014 it covers 18 hectares with 100 hl of wine produced. White: Trebbiano d'Abruzzo or Trebbiano Toscana. Red: Montepulciano. In addition to the region's DOCs, Abruzzo is also home to eight indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations—Alto Tirino, Colli del Sangro, Colline Frentane, Colline Pescaresi, Colline Teatine, Vastese (also known as Histonium), Terre di Chieti and Valle Peligna. Many producers use these IGT to produce proprietary red blends, using more international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. ==See also==