Variety: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 100%.
Vineyard: in the province of Pescara.
Training system: traditional overhead trellis system “pergola” of Abruzzo region.
Yield per hectare: 12 t/ha.
Harvest: by hand in the first half of October, accurate grape selection.
Vinification: bleeding off after a maceration with skins at low temperatures for 12 hours, fermented at 18º C.
Malolactic fermentation: partial.
Ageing: in vats “sur lies” for 3-4 months.
Alcohol volume: 13% vol.
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is the newest DOC of the central Italian wine region Abruzzo. Created in October 2010, the title covers the cherry-red, brightly flavored wines formerly labeled as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Cerasuolo.
To achieve the lighter, vibrant style which sets Cerasuolo wines apart from their heftier counterparts, a particular winemaking technique is employed. The most important element of this is the reduced contact time between the fermenting juice and the red grape skins. This serves to significantly lessen the red pigmentation of the must, resulting in the attractive cherry-like color which is behind the name Cerasuolo (meaning ‘cherry’ in Italian). While color is certainly important, bouquet and flavor are inevitably more so – this technique results in wines with a brighter, fruitier taste and which are also lower in tannins. Less soaking time also means less absorption of tannins from the skins, pips and stems. The same techniques are used to make Cerasuolo di Vittoria, the first wine of Sicily to be granted DOCG status.
While their cousins from Vittoria, almost 400 miles (650km) to the south, have an extra fruity zing thanks to the Frappato grape variety, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo wines are made almost exclusively from the Montepulciano variety. DOC laws permit other grape varieties to account for no more than 15% of the Cerasuolo blend, specifying these as altri vitigni a bacca rossa non aromatici idonei alla coltivazione nella regione Abruzzo – ‘other red-skinned, non-aromatic varieties suited to cultivation in the Abruzzo region’.
The legally defined vineyard area for Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo wine production covers communes in all four provinces in Abruzzo: Chieti, L’Aquila, Pescara and Teramo. As with red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and white Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, the permitted area is restricted to land lying below 600m, which means most of the vineyards are located in the lower-lying east area of the region.
