This document provides information on the Emilia Romagna region of Italy and its wines. It discusses the semi-continental climate of hot summers and cold winters. Full-bodied wines are produced in hilly areas, while lighter table wines come from flat areas. It outlines 19 DOC and 2 DOCG regions and describes the Lambrusco area, Colli Bolognesi, and Bosco Eliceo wines. It also summarizes information on Tuscany, including the Sangiovese grape, Chianti and Chianti Classico DOCGs, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, and coastal "Super Tuscan" wines from Bolgheri.

1. ITALIAN WINE SPECIALIST
LESSON 3

2. EMILIA ROMAGNA

3. SEMICONTINENTAL CLIMATE: HOT
SUMMER – COLD WINTER

4. FULL BODIED WINES IN HILLY AREAS, LIGHT
TABLE WINES IN FLAT AREAS

5. DOC 19
Bosco Eliceo
Cagnina di Romagna
Colli Bolognesi
Colli di Faenza
Colli d'Imola
Colli di Parma
Colli di Rimini
Colli di Romagna Centrale
Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa
Colli Piacentini
Gutturnio
Lambrusco di Sorbara
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce
Modena
Ortrugo
Pagadebit di Romagna
Pignoletto
Reggiano
Reno
2 DOCG
Albana di Romagna
Colli Bolognesi Classico Pignoletto

6. EMILIA VINEYARDS

7. COLLI PIACENTINI
COLLI DI PARMA
LAMBRUSCO AREA
COLLI BOLOGNESI
BOSCO ELICEO

8. COLLI PIACENTINI DOC
PIEDMONT STYLE
GRAPES:
CROATINA
BARBERA
MALVASIA

9. LAMBRUSCO AREA DOC
-LAMBRUSCO DI SORBARA
-LAMBRUSCO GRASPAROSSA
DI CASTELVETRO
-LAMBRUSCO SALAMINO
DI SANTA CROCE
-LAMBRUSCO
MAESTRI
-LAMBRUSCO DI MODENA
DRY, MEDIUM SWEET, SWEET

11. LAMBRUSCO
The best Lambruscos are dry (secco) and lighly sweet (semisecco) and are almost always made
in a semi-sparkling, frizzante, style.
There are the 4 high quality varieties:
Lambrusco di Sorbara : this grape produces the lightest and most delicate and floral of the Lambrusco wines
Lambrusco Maestri : Wines of Lambrusco Maestri are more grapey with soft and creamy bubbles and subtle notes
of milk chocolate.
Lambrusco Grasparossa : This is the grape that makes the boldest Lambrusco wines with flavours of black currant
and blueberries, supported by moderately high, mouth-drying tannin and a balancing creaminess from the Charmat
sparkling production process
Lambrusco Salamino : This Lambrusco has cylindrical salami-shaped bunches (which is what the grape is named
after). These wines have the delightful aromatic qualities of Lambrusco di Sorbara (cherries and violets) with the
structure (tannin), creaminess, and deep color of Lambrusco Grasparossa.
Expect Lambrusco Salamino to be made in sweetest styles.

13. COLLI BOLOGNESI
COLLI BOLOGNESI DOC
CHARDONNAY
PINOT BIANCO
RIESLING ITALICO
MERLOT
BARBERA
CABERNET SAUV.

14. Pignoletto is well respected in its native region. Several years ago, DNA analysis
showed Pignoletto to be genetically identical to Grechetto a better known variety
found mostly in Umbria.
Pignoletto is both the name of the wine and the variety of the grape.
Almost all Pignoletto is Charmat method (Prosecco)
COLLI BOLOGNESI PIGNOLETTO DOCG
Frizzante

15. BOSCO
ELICEO
BOSCO ELICEO DOC
“SANDY WINE”
Between the river Po and the Adriatic Sea: the
salt water, the breeze rich in iodine and the
mainly sandy alluvial soil contribute to the
production of wines that are known for their
liveliness and savoury notes.
One of the few areas in the Europe not using
grafting (original rootstock) – no philloxera
BOSCO ELICEO FORTANA DOC
LIGHT RUBY RED

16. ROMAGNA DOC / DOCG WINES
SANGIOVESE DI ROMAGNA DOC
ALBANA DI ROMAGNA DOCG
TREBBIANO DI ROMAGNA DOC
PAGADEBIT DI ROMAGNA DOC

17. ALBANA DI
ROMAGNA DOCG
WHITE
SECCO (DRY)
AMABILE (MEDIUM-SWEET)
DOLCE (SWEET)
PASSITO (DRIED)

18. SANGIOVESE
VERSATILE GRAPE FOR LIGHT OR FULLBODIED WINE
(ESPECIALLY FROM HILLSIDE VINEYARDS)
Sangiovese di Romagna adapts to different soil types. The grape
seems to produce the highest quality wine in the sandstone and
clay rich hills near the Apennines. The higher summer time
temperatures of this area gives more opportunity for
Sangiovese to sufficiently ripen.

19. TUSCANY

20. 66 % HILLS
25% MOUNTAINS
9% FLAT AREAS

21. CLIMATE IS MILD, HOT SUMMERS CLOSE TO SEA COAST (WARM
MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE)
INLAND (HILLS –WHERE THE VINEYARDS ARE PLANTED) MORE
VENTILATION

22. HILLS COVERED BY VINEYARDS
HIGH ALTITUDE (150-500 MT) PERFECT TEMPERATURE

23. Sangiovese grape performs better when it can ripe in
direct sunlight.
Hillside and elevations are ideal, also temperature
variation (day/night) helps to balance acidity/sugars
and enhances aromas

24. Tuscany is comprised of several different soil types that range from soft and crumbly, marl-
like clay-limestone and dense sandstone in the Apennine foothills to sandy clay around San
Gimignano and gravelly clay and sandy soils in the Bolgheri and Maremma areas.
But it is in this diversity that the beauty of Tuscany lies: There are so many different sub-soils
that there is a perfect home for each individual grape variety, no matter what type of soil it
prefers.

25. SOIL
Combination of SANDSTONE, CLAY LIMESTONE called GALESTRO

26. DOC 41
Ansonica Costa Argentario
Barco Reale di Carmignano
Bianco dell'Empolese
Bianco di Pitigliano
Bolgheri
Bolgheri Sassicaia
Candia dei Colli Apuani
Capalbio
Colli dell'Etruria Centrale
Colli di Luni
Colline Lucchesi
Cortona
Elba
Grance Senesi
Maremma Toscana
Montecarlo
Montecucco
Monteregio di M. Marittima
Montescudaio
Moscadello di Montalcino
Orcia
Parrina
Pomino
Rosso di Montalcino
Rosso di Montepulciano
San Gimignano
Sant'Antimo
San Torpè
Sovana
Terratico di Bibbona
Terre di Casole
Terre di Pisa
Val d'Arbia
Val d’Arno di sopra
Valdichiana Toscana
Val di Cornia
Valdinievole
Vin Santo del Chianti
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico
Vin Santo di Carmignano
Vin Santo di Montepulciano.

27. 11 DOCG
Brunello di Montalcino
Carmignano
Chianti Classico
Chianti
Elba Aleatico Passito
Montecucco Sangiovese
Morellino di Scansano
Suvereto
Rosso di Val di Cornia
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

28. MEDIUM TO DEEP COLOUR,
FULL BODY, MODERATELY
TANNIC TO TANNIC
DEEP COLOURED, FULL
BODY TO ROBUST.
TANNIC AND WARM
PICCOLO GROSSO
MOST IMPORTANT TUSCAN GRAPE:
SANGIOVESE

29. CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG
CHIANTI DOCG

31. CHIANTI DOCG
COLLI ARETINI
COLLI FIORENTINI
COLLI SENESI
COLLINE PISANE
MONTALBANO
MONTESPERTOLI
RUFINA

32. CHIANTI DOCG
SANGIOVESE (piccolo)
70/100%
CANAIOLO NERO
MAMMOLO
COLORINO
CILIEGIOLO
MALVASIA
TREBBIANO TOSCANO(white)
CANAIOLO BIANCO (white)

33. MAMMOLO (violet aroma)
CILIEGIOLO (cherry aroma)
MALVASIA NERA (vinous)
COLORINO (colour)

34. CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG
CASTELLINA IN CHIANTI
GAIOLE IN CHIANTI
GREVE IN CHIANTI
RADDA IN CHIANTI
and parts of the communes of
BARBERINO VAL D’ELSA
CASTELNUONO BERARDENGA
POGGIBONSI
SAN CASCIANO VAL DI PESA
TAVERNELLE VAL DI PESA

35. SANGIOVESE (piccolo)
80/100%
CANAIOLO NERO
MAMMOLO
COLORINO
CILIEGIOLO
No white grapes
CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG

36. GAIOLE IN CHIANTI:
SANDSTONE → FLORAL SANGIOVESE

37. RADDA, SAN CASCIANO, CASTELLINA:
LIMESTONE → FRUITY SANGIOVESE

38. CASTELNUOVO BERARDENGA: VOLCANIC →
TOBACCO/EARTHY AROMAS

39. The new classification of the Chianti Classico typologies added another layer at the
top of the DOCG quality pyramid: the GRAN SELEZIONE.
In addition to stricter technical and organoleptic characteristics, Gran Selezione
wines can be released on the market only 30 months after the grape harvest, three
of them spent in bottle refinement.
Chianti Classico Gran Selezione
• Wine produced from single vineyard or from a
selection of the estate’s best grapes
• Minimum aging requirement: 30 months, including
3 months of bottle aging
• Stricter technical and sensory parameters
Chianti Classico Riserva
• Minimum aging requirement: 24 months,
including 3 months of bottle aging
• New technical and organoleptic parameters
Chianti Classico Annata:
min. aging 12 months
• New technical and organoleptic parameters

42. BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG

43. MONTALCINO

44. MONTALCINO

45. One of the first records of "Brunello" was a red wine that was made in the
Montalcino area in the early 14th century.
In the mid-19th century, a local farmer named Clemente Santi isolated certain
plantings of Sangiovese vines in order to produce a 100% varietal wine that could be
aged for a considerable period.
In 1888, his grandson Ferruccio Biondi-Santi released the first "modern version" of
Brunello di Montalcino that was aged for over a decade in large wood barrel.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG

46. 100% SANGIOVESE GROSSO or “BRUNELLO”
Minimum 12.5% ABV.
Produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino.
Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where colour and flavour
are extracted from the skins.
Following fermentation, the wine is then aged in oak.
Requires 5 YEARS of aging, after harvest vintage, with 2 years minimum in oak and 4 months in
bottle.
The Riserva must age for 6 YEARS before it can be sold with a minimum of 2 years in oak and a
minimum of 6 months in bottle.
Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more "in botte“ - large Slavonian oak casks that
impart little oak flavour and generally produce more austere wines.
Some winemakers will use small French barriques which impart a more pronounced vanilla
oak flavour.
There is a middle ground where the wine is aged in small barrique for a short time and then
spends a longer in the traditional botte.
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG

48. IL PARADISO DI FRASSINA
This is not something born to
amaze the visitor, but it’s the
result of a serious agronomic and
scientific research concerning the
beneficial effects of musical
frequencies on the vines,
supported by the Universities of
Florence and Pisa and sponsored
by the prestigious company
BOSE.

49. SANGIOVESE GROSSO
(PRUGNOLO GENTILE)
min 70%
CANAIOLO NERO,
And OTHER GRAPES
The wine is aged for 2 years
(at least 1 year in oak barrels)
three years if it is a riserva
VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO

50. CARMIGNANO DOCG
SANGIOVESE min 50%
CANAIOLO NERO
CABERNET FRANC
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

51. MALVASIA
VERDICCHIO
VERNACCIA
GRECHETTO
CHARDONNAY
SAUVIGNON
PINOT GRIGIO
VERMENTINO
TRADITIONAL
Blended with
NEW
Blended with
Introduced by CATERINA DE MEDICI in France and called UGNI BLANC, USED TO
PRODUCE COGNAC and ARMAGNAC
VERY HIGH ACIDITY – USED TO PRODUCE SWEET WINES (VIN SANTO)
AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
TREBBIANO TOSCANO

52. VERNACCIA DI SAN GIMIGNANO
DOCG
White wine made from the Vernaccia grape,
produced in and around the Italian hill town
of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Since the
Renaissance, it has been considered one of
Italy's finest white wines.
It was the first Italian wine to be awarded
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
status in 1966.
It is not related with the other two Italian
vernaccia (Oristano and di Serrapetrona)
Traditionally easy drinking, crispy white
wine. Modern style can be medium body and
rich, also aged in oak

53. NEW TUSCANY STYLE
COASTAL GRAPES
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MERLOT
ANSONICA
VERMENTINO
Soil and climate was not
the best for sangiovese

54. Back in the 1960s, some Tuscan producers began experimenting with non-indigenous
varieties from Bordeaux, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
Marchese Mario Incisa della Rochetta had been making the wine for private consumption
since 1948 from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines planted in Bolgheri on the
Tuscan coast.
The first commercial release was the 1968 vintage, but due to Tuscany’s strict appellation
laws the wine had to be labelled as Vino da Tavola or ‘table wine’ or IGT Toscana.
Bolgheri became an internationally known region following an event in 1974 arranged by
Decanter where a 6-year-old Sassicaia won over an assortment of Bordeaux wines.
Sassicaia is considered the first Super Tuscan.
The current set of DOC regulations for Bolgheri red wines became approved in 1994.

55. BOLGHERI DOC

56. Due to the particular characteristics of the soil and micro climate sunny,
dry and windy, grape varieties of Bordeaux origin tend to thrive, such as
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
BLEND BOLGHERI AND BOLGERI SUPERIORE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 0-100%
CABERNET FRANC 0-100%
MERLOT 0-100%
SYRAH 0-50%
SANGIOVESE 0-50%
ANY OTHER APPROVED 30%

57. “SUPER TUSCAN” are called outstanding wines produced in
every area of Tuscany. A good number of them come from
Bolgheri
1. Tenuta San Guido "Sassicaia"
2. Tua Rita "Redigaffi"
3. Antinori "Solaia"
4. Le Macchiole "Messorio"
5. Tenuta dell'Ornellaia "Ornellaia"
6. Antinori "Tignanello"
7. Fontodi "Flaccianello della Pieve"
8. Castello di Ama "L'Apparita"
9. Antinori "Guado al Tasso"
10. Tenuta dell'Ornellaia "Masseto"

59. BOLGHERI SASSICAIA DOC
TENUTA SAN GUIDO
26 MONTHS AGEING
18 BARRIQUE
6 BOTTLE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON min. 80%

60. MORELLINO DI SCANSANO DOCG
Red wine made in the hilly environs of the
village of Scansano, in the Maremma region
of coastal Tuscany.
Morellino is the local name for the
Sangiovese grape variety.
The name may come from the morello
cherry, a dark red cherry with great tartness
and acidity.
The wine is made from at least 85%
Sangiovese.
The remaining 15% can comprise any non-
aromatic black grape varieties.

61. VIN SANTO DOC
The style of making wine from dried grapes has been
around almost as long as wine has been made.
Vin Santo meaning is "holy wine“, the most likely origin
was the wine's historic use in the Catholic Mass, where
sweet wine was often preferred.
One of the earliest references to a "vinsanto" wine
comes from the Renaissance era sales logs of Florentine
wine merchants who widely marketed the strong, sweet
wine in Rome and elsewhere.
Eventually the term "vinsanto" became almost an
umbrella name for this style of wine produced
elsewhere in Italy

62. VIN SANTO DOC
TREBBIANO TOSCANO/MALVASIA
DEL CHIANTI
DEL CHIANTI CLASSICO
COLLI ETRURIA CENTRALE
POMINO
MONTECARLO
BIANCO EMPOLESE
DI MONTEPULCIANO
MONTESCUDAIO

63. VIN SANTO DOC
Vin Santo is aged in small oak barrels.
In many DOC regions, the wines are required to age for at least 3 years though it is
not uncommon for producers to age their wines for 5 to 10 years.
Traditionally the barrels were made of chestnut instead of oak, which contributed
high amounts of wood tannins and was very porous which promoted excessive
evaporation in the barrel.
Under this same traditional style of winemaking, a large ullage or air space would
emerge in the barrel and oxidation took place.

64. VIN SANTO “OCCHIO DI PERNICE” ROSE’/
AMBER / RED
Min. 50% SANGIOVESE + TREBBIANO AND
MALVASIA
They are produced by drying the freshly harvested
grapes on straw mats in a warm and well ventilated
area. However several producers dry the grapes by
hanging on racks indoors

65. UMBRIA

66. DOC
Amelia
Assisi
Colli Altotiberini
Colli del Trasimeno
Colli Martani
Colli Perugini
Lago di Corbara
Montefalco
Orvieto
Rosso Orvietano o Orvietano Rosso
Spoleto
Todi
Torgiano
DOCG 2
Montefalco Sagrantino
Torgiano Rosso Riserva

67. SUB-MEDITERRANEAN. SUMMER IS WARM AND DRY AND SLIGHTLY
WINDY. WINTER IS MILD.

68. PRODUCTION
60% WHITE WINE
40% RED WINE

69. GRAPES
TREBBIANO TOSCANO
GRECHETTO
SANGIOVESE
CANAIOLO NERO

70. ORVIETO
DOC
TORGIANO ROSSO
RISERVA DOCG
SAGRANTINO
MONTEFALCO
DOCG

71. TORGIANO ROSSO RISERVA DOCG

72. TORGIANO ROSSO RISERVA DOCG
SANGIOVESE, CANAIOLO,
TREBBIANO TOSCANO
AGED 36 MONTHS: PART IN SLAVONIAN
OAK, FOLLOWED BY BOTTLE AGEING

73. SAGRANTINO
DRY PASSITO
The grape has one of the highest tannin levels in
the world and creates wines that are dark red
with an almost-black centre. The bouquet: dark
and red fruits, plums, cinnamon and tobacco

74. SAGRANTINO MONTEFALCO (DRY) AND
PASSITO
RULES AND REGULATION
BOTH 30 MONTHS AGEING
DRY WITH 12 MONTHS IN OAK
PASSITO: DRIED GRAPES, OAK NOT REQUIRED

75. MONTEFALCO DOC
ROSSO: SANGIOVESE 60-70%, SAGRANTINO
10-15%, OTHERS MERLOT, CABERNET
SAUVIGNON 15-30%
WHITE: GRECHETTO, TREBBIANO
MONTEFALCO ROSSO DOC MONTEFALCO
BIANCO DOC

76. ORVIETO
DOC

77. ORVIETO DOC ORVIETO
CLASSIO DOC
PROCANICO,
VERDELLO, GRECHETTO,
DRUPEGGIO
STYLE: DRY, MEDIUM DRY,
MEDIUM SWEET, SWEET

78. MARCHE

79. MILD CLIMATE ALONG THE SEA COAST
WARM REFRESHED BY SEA WIND
INLAND AREA, CONTINENTAL CLIMATE FRESH
SUMMER, COLD WINTER

80. DOC
Bianchello del Metauro
Colli Maceratesi
Colli Pesaresi
Esino
Falerio
I Terreni di Sanseverino
Lacrima di Morro d'Alba
Pergola
Rosso Conero
Rosso Piceno
San Ginesio
Serrapetrona
Terra di Offida
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Verdicchio di Matelica
5 DOCG
Conero
Offida
Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva Verdicchio di
Matelica Riserva

81. VERDICCHIO CASTELLI DI JESI
DOC (CLASSICO - RISERVA)
DOCG
VERDICCHIO DI MATELICA
DOC – RISERVA DOCG
ROSSO CONERO DOCG
VERNACCIA DI SERRA PETRONA
DOCG

82. VERDICCHIO VINEYARDS

83. VERDICCHIO
CASTELLI DI JESI AND DI MATELICA
STRAW YELLOW WITH GREENISH FLORAL,
FRUITY, HERBACEOUS
VERDICCHIO DI MATELICA
HIGHER MINERALITY

84. VERNACCIA DI SERRA PETRONA DOCG
(sparkling red)
GRAPES: VERNACCIA NERA
60% BASE WINE FROM EARLY HARVEST
40% DRIED BERRIES WINE
TANK FERMENTATION TO MAKE BUBBLES
(CHARMAT) for 9-10 months

85. VERNACCIA NERA DRIED GRAPES

86. ROSSO CONERO
GRAPES: MONTEPULCIANO 85-100% SANGIOVESE 15%

87. LAZIO

88. HILLS 54%
MOUNTAINS 26%
PLAINS 20%

89. 90% WHITE WINES
10% RED

90. DOC
Aleatico di Gradoli
Aprilia
Atina
Bianco Capena
Castelli Romani
Cerveteri
Cesanese di Affile o Affile
Cesanese di Olevano Romano
Circeo
Colli Albani
Colli della Sabina
Colli Etruschi Viterbesi o Tuscia
Colli Lanuvini
Cori
Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone
Frascati
Genazzano
Marino
Montecompatri Colonna o Colonna o
Montecompatri
DOCG 3
Cesanese del Piglio o Piglio
Cannellino di Frascati
Frascati Superiore
Nettuno
Orvieto
Roma
Tarquinia
Terracina o Moscato
di Terracina
Velletri
Vignanello
Zagarolo

92. Even though Rome has a history of winemaking since before the Romans,
Lazio or Latium has more recently been considered a not very exciting area.
During the last century, the major grapes, including Trebbiano and Malvasia,
were over cropped to produce boring, sweet white wines.
Recently the region has been boost with the investments and passions of a
few individuals to improve production quality.

93. LATIUM GRAPES:
TREBBIANO TOSCANO/GIALLO
MALVASIA DEL LAZIO
CESANESE COMUNE AND DI AFFILE
ALEATICO
SANGIOVESE

94. FRASCATI DOC
Named after the town of Frascati, located 25 km southeast of Rome.
Archaeological discoveries from the area, demonstrate that the cultivation of
grapes for wine started on the 5th century B.C.
It was one of the preferred wines of Ancient Rome, Renaissance Popes, poets
and artists visiting in the Grand Tour and La Dolce Vita generation in the 1960s.
Made from Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia del Lazio, Grechetto, Bombino bianco,
and Trebbiano grapes

97. FRASCATI DOC
MALVASIA BIANCA AND
MALVASIA DI CANDIA
TREBBIANO
STYLE: DRY, MEDIUM SWEET, SWEET

98. EST EST EST
MONTEFIASCONE DOC

99. EST EST EST DI
MONTEFIASCONE DOC
TREBBIANO TOSCANO
MALVASIA BIANCA
TREBBIANO GIALLO

100. 12th-century tale of a German Bishop travelling to the Vatican for a meeting with the
Pope.
The Bishop sent a prelate ahead of him to survey the villages along the route for the best
wines. The 'wine scout' had instructions to write 'Est' (Latin for 'It is') on the door or on
the wall of the inns he visited when he was particularly impressed with the quality of
the wine, so the Bishop following on his trail would have known in advance where to
make a stop.
At a Montefiascone inn, the prelate was reportedly so overwhelmed with the local wine
that he wrote Est! Est!! Est!!! on the door.

101. CESANESE DEL PIGLIO DOCG
CESANESE COMUNE
CESANESE D’AFFILE

102. ALEATICO DI GRADOLI
DOC (RED)
NATURAL SWEET, FORTIFIED,
FORTIFIED RISERVA

103. ABRUZZO

104. MEDITERRANEAN AND MILD CLIMATE ALONG THE COAST. INLAND COULD HAVE
SEMI CONTINENTAL CLIMATE, ESPECIALLY NEAR THE MOUNTAINS.

105. VINEYARDS HILLSIDE
88%
12% MOUNTAIN

106. PRODUCTION
60% WHITE WINE
38% RED WINE
2% ROSÈ/PINK
Despite the mountainous region of Abruzzo having only half of the vineyard land of
regions like Tuscany, the region still produces more than 22 million cases of wine
annually.
This is partly because of the high permitted yields of Abruzzo's main DOC region (as
much as 100 hectoliters/hectare) as well as the government mandated use of high-
producing tendone vine-training systems installed in the 1970s

107. TRADITIONAL “ABRUZZESE”
TENDONE TRAINING SYSTEM

108. DOC
Abruzzo
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo
Controguerra
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Subarea
Alto Tirino
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Subarea
Casauria
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Subarea
Teate
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Subarea
Terre dei Peligni
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Subarea
Terre dei Vestini
Ortona
Terre Tollesi o Tullum
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Villamagna
DOCG 1
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline
Teramane

109. MONTEPULCIANO
TREBBIANO D’ABRUZZO

111. COLLINE TERAMANE
MONTEPULCIANO
“TERAMO HILLS”

112. MONTEPULCIANO
D’ABRUZZO
In the late 20th and early 21st century, Montepulciano
d'Abruzzo earned a reputation as one of the most widely
exported DOC wines in Italy.
It is typically dry, fruity and floral, with soft tannins and
often drank young

113. MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO DOC
Under Italian wine laws, the wine must be made of a minimum of 85% Montepulciano
with up to 15% of Sangiovese.
The wine must be aged for a minimum of 5 months prior to release with bottles
labelled as Vecchio further aged a minimum of two years in wood barrels.
Additionally, all Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wines must have a minimum alcohol level of
at least 12%
It can also be produced in a lighter rosato style, which since 2010 is a separate DOC
called Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo.
MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO COLLINE
TERAMANE DOCG
From vineyards planted in Teramo and 30 surrounding communes. The regulations for
the wine are similar to Montepulciano d'Abruzzo except that the wine needs to be
made from a minimum of 90% Montepulciano with a maximum of 10% Sangiovese
permitted