Provincia di Chieti

Today we made a culinary journey through Italy. It was not just a geographical journey through Abruzzi, it was a junket to three wineries. Each one tried to outdo the others in showing us hospitality, generosity and some of the best wines we have ever tasted.

We visited first the Tilli Vineyards. This small operation prides itself in producing wine the old fashioned way. While they do have modern equipment, they are a completely organic vineyard using no chemicals or insecticides. They harvest and press the grapes using traditional techniques and methods. Their sparkling white wine is made with a relatively new variety, the cocociola grape, using the methode champenois which requires unaltered white wine to ferment and age in the bottle. This process involves more risk to the winemaker. The wine is sealed in the bottle, and after a couple of years, the neck of the bottle is frozen and a plug of sediment is removed. The bottle is corked, and except for periodic turning of the bottle, nothing else is done to the wine for one to three years. The winemaker does not know whether the process is successful until he finally opens the bottle and samples the wine. If everything was done correctly, the wine emerges with a strawy yellow color, extremely tiny bubbles and a flavor that is indescribably delicious.
The third winery we visited, the Contesa Vineyard is a considerably larger operation. They also produce excellent wines using the same varieties of grapes, but their sparkling white wine is made using the charmat method, also called the tank method. The white wine is fermented and aged not in the bottle, but in a large stainless steel vacuum tank. This process is faster, produces a larger volume of sparkling wine and allows for some adjustments to the liquid as it ages. Although this process is not favored by serious connoisseurs, for most of the rest of us wine made with the charmat method is completely satisfactory and is cheaper than sparkling wine made with the traditional method. Contesa Vineyards is a medium-size producer in the Abruzzi region, and sells about half a million bottles per year.
Between these two visits, we were wined and dined at the Dora Sarchese Vineyard near Ortona. Favoring the traditional methods, this vineyard has a private reserve Montepulciano. The grapes used for this still, red wine are harvested by hand, pressed by human feet and lovingly tended. This wine is regarded by some as the best red wine in the world. You can drink it to your heart’s content for a mere €1000 per 750 ml bottle.

While the region of Tuscany with its wonderful Chianti is much better known, the region around Abruzzo also boasts some world class vintages. Additionally this area is very concerned about maintaining its distinctive rural character. The dominant grape here is called Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which produces a full-bodied red wine that stands up favorably to any Chianti in Tuscany. The scenery and the wines convinced me that, though undiscovered by the masses, this place is the culinary heart of Italy. Endless rows of grape arbors climb mountainsides as far as the eye can see. Hundred-year-old olive trees silently grow their fruit. The farmers here are as careful about their olive oil as they are about their wine. Though the food we were served at all three vineyards was delicious, I would want to come to Abruzzo again just for the scenery.Read more