As we say goodbye to 2024 I always like to reflect on what I have accomplished over the past year and to thank my readers for following me on my 11th year of blogging. Although finding the time to continue to keep myself abreast on the world of Italian wines to share with you all still poses to be a challenge with a young family, I'm committed to always provide the most engaging and informational material to share with you all.
In 2025 I look forward to hopefully sharing more Italian wine and food pairings and investing more time to do what I love, drinking great Italian wines and cooking. I may even tackle a website redesign on my own, but I'm not that tech savvy so we will see. I'm also looking to engage more with the many winery consortiums across Italy to get some great insight into these regions via interviews, etc so if you're a producer or member of the Consorzio don't hesitate to reach out.
Let's take a look at my top 5 performing blogs of 2024!
Thank you again for all your support of Vino Travels and here is to a healthy 2025! Cin cin!
From my family to yours, Happy New Year!
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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, Trebbianod’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 wineryin 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 PecorinoColli 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 latinmeans 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 Strappelliin 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.
As we are quickly approaching the Thanksgiving holiday it is a time for not only celebrating our family and friends, but also for enjoying a delicious meal while doing so. While there are a variety of traditional dishes prepared for Thanksgiving, knowing which wine to serve with the Thanksgiving feast is always a question on everyone’s mind this time of year.
From the appetizers to side dishes to the main feast followed by dessert how can one decide which wines are the best? Personally, I drink what I like. Plain and simple. Although, something is to be said for finding that perfect pairing to marry the flavors of the dishes with the wine. I find it easier to break it up by course. I always go for a sparkling wine or white wine for the appetizers, red for the main course, and a dessert wine to end the meal. Although with so many pies to dig into, the dessert wine selection sometimes gets left by the wayside. Can you blame me?
This week I prepared a mini-Thanksgiving feast to enjoy a wine that I was reminded of at a recent class on Umbrian wines in Boston last month. I also had a bottle on hand at home and it seemed it would pair lovely with a Thanksgiving meal preview. This bottle is the 2020 MadreviteC’osa Gamay del Trasimeno Riserva DOC. You may recall I have featuredMadrevite previously with their 2019 vintage of C’osa.
The Madrevite Winery
The Madrevite winery is located in northern Umbria, bordering Tuscany, within the Perugia province in the town of Castiglione del Lago. The name of the winery, Madrevite, comes from an ancient name for the piece that corked the barrels.
Winemaking on the property began with Tino Chiucchiurlotto in the 70’s, whom is the grandfather to the current owner and winemaker, Nicola Chiucchiurlotto. It wasn’t until 2003 when Madrevite was officially established by Nicola.
Nicola reintroduced a clone of Gamay from old Gamay vines that he discovered on the property of Madrevite and planted new vines. The Gamay grape was brought to the Trasimeno area in the 1600’s by the Spanish. Eleonora Alarcon y Mendoza, whom was the wife of Duke Fulvio dellaCorgna whose family ruled Castiglione, was a fan of Gamay for its aromatics, structure, roundness and alcohol levels.
Nicola Chiucchiurlotto and the future of Madrevite
Madrevite Wine
The 2020 MadreviteC’osa Gamay del Trasimeno Riserva DOC is a wine made from 100% Gamay del Trasimeno. This wine was given the name C’osa to represent whom is daring to try this wine. The eye-catching artwork on the label from artist Jean-Michel Basquiat seems to capture that essence of boldness.
Nicola’s grandfather, Zino, grafted these ancient Gamay cuttings in the 70’s to 100+ year old vines at the small vineyard on top of the hill at the estate. The grapeswere manually harvested and spent 6 months in concrete with 12 months in large barrel with an additional 6 months in the bottle. Deeper ruby colored the aromas of this wine are lovely. Ripe and dried blackberries, plums and black cherry with a little bit of spice. Juicy acidity on the palate with smooth, fine tannin and a round mouthfeel.
Thanksgiving wine pairing
I found this wine to go rather nicely with this mini selection of a pre-Thanksgiving meal. Medium bodied with ample fruit, good acidity along with smooth tannins helped complement the turkey and sides. Although this was just a small selection of some of the typical sides to be enjoyed on Thanksgiving, I feel this wine will stand up well to many of the options for your Thanksgiving meal.
Join my fellow Italian food and wine lovers as they share some other Italian wines to consider for your Thanksgiving feast!
