Abruzzo Wine Guide: Grapes, Appellations & Producers

Abruzzo’s serious red heart

Soil: Clay-limestone hills below the Gran Sasso in the north — Abruzzo’s only red DOCG.
Style: Deep, structured Montepulciano — dark cherry, plum, savoury spice and ageworthy tannin.
Top sites: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane is the region’s top, age-worthy red designation.
Vintages: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021
Producers: Tiberio

Tip · Beyond cheap "Monte", Abruzzo makes profound, traditional reds that age for decades.

Value pick

Tiberio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo · ~$20

Pure, savoury Montepulciano — dark fruit and freshness; brilliant value.

Collector pick

Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo · ~$90 · 2016

Legendary natural-method Abruzzo — profound and astonishingly age-worthy.

Cherry rosé & textured whites

Soil: Warmer coastal hills toward the Adriatic.
Style: Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo — a deep, "cherry" rosé from Montepulciano — plus textured Trebbiano whites.
Top sites: Cerasuolo is a serious, full-flavoured rosé, not a pale aperitif pink.
Vintages: 2020, 2021, 2022
Producers: TiberioPraesidium

Tip · Cerasuolo is one of Italy’s great rosés; top Trebbiano d’Abruzzo can rival white Burgundy.

Value pick

Tiberio Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo · ~$22

Vivid cherry-red rosé — savoury, structured and food-friendly.

Collector pick

Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo · ~$180 · 2019

Cult Trebbiano — a profound, long-lived white that defies the grape’s reputation.