Between the mountains and the sea, with the vine that creates uncontaminated landscapes: Abruzzo is celebrated in the United States

A territory to be discovered, characterized by hills with a thousand shades of color, rich in ancient villages, where the vine has always drawn the landscape, set between the Adriatic Sea and the massifs of the Gran Sasso d’Italia and the Majella: Abruzzo, elected by Wine Enthusiast - one of the leading international magazines– “Region of the Year” in November 2022 and was celebrated yesterday at the “Wine Star Awards” award ceremony at the Palazzo delle Belle Arti in San Francisco.
A land particularly suited to viticulture, with 36,000 hectares of vineyards - the powerful red wines of Montepulciano, the great white Trebbiano Abruzzese, the refined Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, the sparkling wines of Cococciola, Passerina, and Montonico Bianco - and hundreds of increasingly competitive companies that contribute daily to elevating Abruzzo wines on the world wine scene. “Wine-growing Abruzzo is represented by a multiplicity of companies, from family ones to cooperatives - explained the president of the Consortium of Abruzzo wines, Alessandro Nicodemi - but all dedicated to producing quality wines, strongly committed to environmental sustainability, and highly dynamic in reading and interpreting today’s market needs, without denying its own traditions and origins”.
The title of “Wine Enthusiast” was also a tribute to an unspoiled landscape, with imposing mountains and a beautiful sea within a few kilometers, which create pedoclimatic conditions favorable to vine cultivation. What distinguishes Abruzzo, aside from its natural beauty, is the connection between culture, people, food, and music, which makes it “an ambitious destination for sustainable travel”, according to the Awards’ jurors.
“It is an extremely prestigious award that gives luster to our Abruzzo: a great international recognition, awarded in the country that is the cradle of modernity, a land that even the Abruzzo people have contributed to making great - declared Emanuele Imprudente, vice president of the Abruzzo Region, with delegation to Agriculture - the motivation of this award is especially important, which is based on two fundamental concepts, which have now become real strengths of the Abruzzo wine sector: tradition and innovation. On the one hand, the genuine characteristics of a one-of-a-kind region, naturally suited to the salinity of the sea and the climatic influences of the mountains; on the other, the recognition of a work of innovation and research that positions us as an avant-garde region, thanks to modern companies capable of developing technologies capable of protecting the vines, optimizing production, and giving birth to excellent wines valued all over the world”. Thanks also to the Abruzzo Wine Experience project, which improves “tourist itineraries capable of combining cultural and not spoilt landscape beauties with the welcoming capacity of our cellars, carried out collaboratively by the Consortium and the regional administration, to promote Abruzzo also as a new wine tourism destination”, Nicodemi added.
The seal of “Region of the Year” by “Wine Enthusiast” comes after the hard work of enhancement and promotion carried out over the years by the Consortium, which continues in this direction with an intense annual program of initiatives abroad, starting right from the United States. The US market is one of the target countries, ranking second in terms of Abruzzo wine imports, accounting for more than 14% of the total value of regional wine exports. The Consortium will be in Las Vegas, Charleston, Miami, Dallas, and Houston from February 1 to 9, with masterclasses and walk-around tastings.