Il Centro!
Central Italy has two of the country’s most famous wine regions — Tuscany on the northwest part of Italy’s central area and Abruzzo across the peninsula, to the southeast.
Tuscany
Stretching from the Tyrrhenian coastline inland toward the Apennine Mountains, Tuscany has a variety of soil types and elevations. It is famous for being the home of the various Chianti regions, and, grapewise, that means Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Sangiovese! That said, it’s common to find vintners blending in small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon into their Chiantis. Appellation rules also allow them throw in native varieties like Canaiolo Nero and Colorino. Believe it or not, there are Tuscan whites — they use grapes like Trebbiano, Vernaccia, and Vermentino. Also, Italy’s famous dessert wine, Vin Santo, is also from Tuscany — the wine region that keeps on giving.
As an interesting piece of ultra-confusing Italian wine trivia — the town of Montepulciano sits in Tuscany, but the wine from around that town (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) is not made from the Montepulciano grape … like Chianti, it’s also made from Sangiovese.
Abruzzo
Though the Montepulciano grape is grown all over Central Italy, it takes its star turn in Abruzzo. A mountainous region on the Adriatic coast, Abruzzo has seen winemaking since the Etruscans brought viniculture there in the 6th century BCE. Sadly, Abruzzo is a historically poor area, and low population levels stalled serious winemaking for centuries. In the last few decades, several wine cooperatives have done the hard work of reinvigorating the region’s reputation for wine. Trebbiano is its signature white grape, and its red (as we have said) is Montepulciano.
Beyond the big two, central Italy has other regions worth exploring — regions that we love, like Umbria.
Umbria
Often called “green heart” of Italy, Umbria is a region of dense forests and medieval hill towns. It sits under Tuscany and inland, making it the only Italian wine region with neither a coastline nor a national border. Its famous wine producing town is Orvieto, which is known for its lovely whites, made from Trebbiano and Grechetto. The Montefalco area produces a red that features the Sagrantino grape.
Please join us this Wine Wednesday as we pour some wines from Central Italy. This is another free, walk-up wine tasting. Join us any time between 5:00 and 6:30. Salute!