More value, more awareness, more definition and recognition: this is the Abruzzo of wine

It has a lot to tell Abruzzo in 2023: in economic terms, with data on the rise for both production and exports, as well as in reference to prices; in oenological terms, thanks to an awareness of producers who are rediscovering their territory and the potential of their vines; in consortium terms, with a reorganization of the quality pyramid of Igt and Doc wines, which will take hold right from the next harvest; and finally in terms of influence, thanks in part to the constancy of a growing preview and greater recognition as a region of eno-gastronomic interest. This is the picture, taken by WineNews, of the present and future of the Abruzzo of wine, in the “Abruzzo Wine Experience” 2023, in recent days, in Città Sant’Angelo, where the Consorzio Tutela Vini d'Abruzzo welcomed more than 100 Italian and foreign journalists, to meet 90 producers (a marked increase from past editions) and taste 350 labels.
Starting with the data, in 2022 - considering the Denominations Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo and Villamagna - production was 140 million bottles, and exports put a +10% on 2021, a figure that emerges from the analysis on the performance of Abruzzo wines, carried out by the Nomisma Wine Monitor Permanent Observatory, activated in 2019 by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo itself to detect in a timely manner the trends of regional wines on the main markets. “The top five destination markets, where 60% of all Abruzzo exports are concentrated, were Germany (+12% the value of sales over 2021), the United States, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Interesting - pointed out Alessandro Nicodemi, president of the Consortium for the Protection of Abruzzo Wines - the exploit of the French market (+57%), or Austria (+53%). In Asia, excellent performances for South Korea (+25%) and Japan (+19%), demonstrating an appreciation that evolves in parallel with the knowledge of the Abruzzo wine region. In slight retreat was China, where the Coronavirus emergency still lingered in 2022, with an economic slowdown that, however, affected imports in general”. In Italy, the return to normal sociability, with the resumption of out-of-home consumption, has resulted in a switch between sales in organized distribution, which grew in 2020 and 2021, and direct consumption in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and wine bars. Despite the repositioning of sales channels, even in large-scale distribution there is an increase in the average price of Abruzzo wines. In fact, for Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, sales in bottles (0.75 l)-which account for two-thirds of sales in value and 40% in volume-increased by 2.6% in value and 2.4% in volume, with an average price increase of 17.8%.
On the enological question, there is a long history of blending wine from which Abruzzo is still trying to extricate itself. From the 1950s, production here was designed to be blended with other wines of Italy and Europe, to make them more powerful: alcohol, concentration and structure were therefore required, and vineyards and cellars were organized around these few profitable concepts. Alcohol and structure were the same characteristics that later the “Parker style” awarded in guides and competitions starting in the 1990s and that helped the first bottled Abruzzi wines to find “a place on the wine map”. The growth of a territory, however, cannot stop at the map alone, and the time is now ripe for Abruzzo to study in depth what the true identity of its grape varieties is. Specifically-as wine critic Filippo Bartolotta (who also selected the wines) pointed out in the masterclasses instigated by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo-how much substantial lightness “à la Italo Calvino” Montepulciano can contain (considering how much Cerasuolo can steer it in this direction) and how much mountainous verticality the regional whites can still express. We easily forget how important the Apennines are to the region: in fact, they cover up to 65% of its territory - the rest is hills and only very little sea coast - influencing its flora both from above (temperature ranges, temperatures, ventilation), and from below (in soil composition and stratification). And what mountains: we speak, from north to south, of the Laga Mountains, the Gran Sasso d’Italia (the highest massif in the Apennines, with the 2,914-meter-high Corno Grande, which also includes the southernmost glacier in Europe), and finally the compact Majella massif.
To counterbalance this, the savory breeze and brightness that the sea brings with it meets the mountain roughness just halfway up the hills. A contrast that is difficult to ignore even when traveling on the highway, when coming from the gentle landscape of Le Marche. There is orographic richness, then, there is richness of grape varieties (Montepulciano and Trebbiano, of course, but also Pecorino, Passerina, international grape varieties, but also local and semi unknown ones, such as Cococciola) and there is human richness, which is expressed in the vineyard (with the rediscovery, for example, of the Abruzzese pergola, to protect the grapes from today's climatic exasperations; of the study of botanicals for mulching that hydrates and refreshes the soil; of mass selection to increase clonal diversity in the vineyard) and in the cellar (with terracotta, but also the technical curiosities with which Cerasuolo is made: from the classic white vinification of the colorful Montepulciano, to the “salasso”, to the traditional “svacata”). There is ferment in Abruzzo, in short, and it is that healthy and outspoken movement that when telling its story is not afraid to deny mistakes made in the past.
Starting with a somewhat confusing pyramidal organization of regional wine quality that the Consortium has been trying to correct for a few years now. A first big step will materialize precisely with the next vintage, 2023. As of September, in fact, the 8 regional IGTs will be merged into a single IGT called “Terre d’Abruzzo”, and in the Abruzzo DOC it will be possible to identify the 4 main subzones of Abruzzo - Colline Teramane, Colline Pescaresi, Terre di Chieti and Terre dell'Aquila - in the Superiore and Riserva mentions. “Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is the second largest denomination of still red wines after Chianti in terms of production. But the reality”, Nicodemi explained, to WineNews, “is that 50% of the production of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, is marketed by the big bottlers who bottle it just about everywhere. And so, in order to enhance more the territory, or rather the territories of the region, the differences that our vines express in each of them, and to create a qualitative apex of the pyramid that is 100% “made in Abruzzo”, we have decided that the sub-areas Terre di Chieti, Terre de L’Aquila, Colline Pescaresi and Colline Teramane will be the only ones allowed to carry the Superiore and Riserva types on the label, which obviously have more restrictive regulations on the Doc, starting with the obligation to bottle in the area”.
A more recognizable territory even in the glass is the goal of Abruzzo, which was also helped by the recognition it received in January 2023 in San Francisco in the “Wine Star Awards”, which the prestigious American magazine “Wine Enthusiast” assigns to the most interesting wine-making realities and to the most influential personalities in the wine industry and at the international level: in fact, Abruzzo was awarded the “Wine Region of the Year 2022” prize. That of “Wine Enthusiast” was a praise to an unspoiled territory, with - within a few kilometers - imposing mountains and a beautiful sea that create favorable pedo-climatic conditions for the cultivation of vines. What makes the difference, in addition to the recognition of its natural beauty, is the link between culture, people, food and music, which make Abruzzo “an ambitious destination for sustainable travel”.Recognition as “Wine Region of the Year” becomes a new starting point for the Consortium, adding a very important piece in the internationalization project that is being carried out through all promotional activities to tell the story of Abruzzo and promote its wines and typical food and wine.
But, in the “Abruzzo Wine Experience”, Abruzzo also rewarded the best stories about its wines, territories and their beauties, with“Words of Wine - Parole di Vino” 2023, the journalistic award of the Consortium Vini d’Abruzzo to highlight the storytelling skills of the journalists who, in the past year, have spoken about the region in national and international media, including Alessandro Regoli, founder with Irene Chiari in 2000 of WineNews, where he traced the future of wine Abruzzo, a land of wine, sheep farming, beauty and poetry, between large numbers, quality growing thanks to “pillars” such as Montepulciano, a red “jewel”, and Trebbiano, a white “soul”, but not only (how can we forget the great Cerasuolo), and territoriality, through the voices of producers and the verses of the great Abruzzo poet Gabriele D’Annunzio; also awarded journalists Tom Hyland (“Forbes”), Gianluca Atzeni (“Tre Bicchieri” of “Gambero Rosso”), Lara Loreti (“Il Gusto” - Gedi Group) and Lorenzo Frassoldati (historical signature of “Qn - Quotidiano Nazionale”).